HISTORICAL 3; LITERARY

MEMOIRS AND ANECDOTES,

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P R EFACE

Tmz name of Baronde Grimm i s one which has

long been familiar to allpersons who have inte

rested themselves inthe state o f French lite rature

for the last half Century. He was”

intimately con

nected with allthe beaux -esprits o f Paris during

the latter years o f th e French Monarchy, and

was d istinguished among them'

fo r the variety o f

h is talents and knowledge .

His Literary Co rre spondence with the Duke of

Sax e-Gothawas fo rtunately reco vered byM. Bancet,

aman o f lette rs inFrance , the author of various

productions wh ich evince talents and taste . The

Co rrespondence from the beginning o f 1 7 5 3 to the

end o f 1 790was published at Paris, insix teenvo

lumes, from wh ich a selectionhas beenmade and

re published inEngland, inthe originallanguage,

insevenvolumes ; and from tha e seventhe Eu

glish versionhas beencarefully selected and trans

. lated. This whole period, including nearly fo rty

years, is replete with public events o f the h ighest

impo rtance , and was concluded h y one o f the most

ex traordinary revolutions that the wo rld ever w it

We are info rmed, by the French Ed itor, that

the Baronde Grimm is not the sole autho r o f

the.

o riginalpapers . The Abbe Raynalwas the

first personwho engaged in.

carrying ona lite rary

correspondence with some o f the sove re ighs of

Europe , that is to say the Empre ss o f Russia, thd

Queen of Sweden, the King o f Poland , the Du

che ss o f Sax e Gotha, the Duke o f Dena-Fonts,

the hereditary Princess ofHesse -Darmstadt, Prince

Ge orge o f Hesse-Darmstadt, and the Prince ss of

Nassau-Saarbruch . In 1 75 5 the Abbé resigned

th e pento the Baronde Grimm who continued it

to 1 790, assoc iating in h is labours many of the

most-distinguished writers o f thatperiod .

Th is Co rrespondence embrace s ‘

at once the

manners, the laws, the ph ilo sophy, the arts, and

the literature o f the times, and presents a mo st

pleasing variety inthe manner of treating the seve

ralsubjects. I tmakes us acquainted with a period

concerning which but few authentic document!

remainto us .

‘

At th is epoch Montesquieu, Buf

fon; Fontenelle , Rousseau, and Volthire, were still

alive , arid the‘

most celebrated writers o f the e igh

teenth century published several of the

.

works on

wh ich the i r reputation and glory are principallyestablish ed . The greate r part o f these are analysed

inthe Co rrespondence of the Baronde Grimm, with

a judgment“

and animpartiality which‘

will'

perhaps'

astonwh '

the readers of the present day. We find

also observations uponthe manners, the laws, and

the ph ilosophy o f the times which appear well

adapted to throwing light uponthe spirit o f the

e ighteenth century, and are therefo re mo st valua

ble documents towards compiling the history o f a

pe rio d, when the great events we have recently

w itnessed we re preparing insilence , and atthe utter

unconsciousness o f th e ir cotempo rarie s. Butwhat

must abo ve allth ings surpri se , and e xcite the eu

rio sity of the reader, inth is Co rrespondence, is the

freedom with wh ich the author writes onall sub

jeeta. The Baronde Grimmand the lite rati as sociated

w ith h im, hadno thoughts of enlightenihg the pub

lic ; they we rex

not restrained by the complaisance of

friendship, no r by the fear o fwounding the amour

propre o f those whose works they analysed ; they

delivered the ir opinions on allsubjects with the

feelings gf others, wh ich cang ever ex ist in a

work Wri ttena lr eady fe r publicgno s In one

wo rd, this CorreSpondence i s so much the mo re de

serving ofa favourable reception, from the public,

as itwasnever.intended for them, and as it offers

many curious details invariousways upon a very

intere

sting period . These conside rations have oc

a l l )

BIOGRAPHI CAL MEMOIRS

0! T3 !

B -Ahair DE GR IMM.

Frederick Melcho ir Grimm was bornatRa

ti sb on, onthe . twenty-six th of De cembe r, 17 23 .

Hi s parents Were po o r ahd in ah obscure statioh

o f life , but they gave h im'

a respectable educa

tion. This h e contrived to‘

th rnto so good an‘

account, that with no ‘

other fortune he raised

h imself to a certainrankand d istincti oninsociety .

M. de Grimm commenced his career inGer

many nearly like Cottin inFrance, but finished

much bette r. His firstwo rks we re h issed without

mercy. He wrote a'

tragedy called Danise, which

Leasing ahd o ther'

critics’

turned into the most

complete ridi cule . No t discouraged by these

ch ecks; h is talents so onopened to h im the road to

fame and fortune . He accompanied the childreno f Count de Schomberg to Paris

, whe re he ap

plied h imself assi duously to learning and study'

,

and m s reader“to'

the Duke"

o f Sax e-Go tha whenJean-Jacques Rousseau first sought h is acquaintance . He afte

’

riWrds became connected with the

Count de F'

. who conceived ane i trao rd inaryfriendsh ip for h im.

From Marmontel's Memo irs it appears that this was the

young Counttle Frise, nephew to MarshalSaxc, and thatGrimmwas

'

hi s'

seci étary.—Tkausur om

g

7 1 11

Whatfirst attracted‘

Rousseau‘

towards‘

M. de

Grimm was the decided passiono f the -latter for

music ; the harpsich ord Was a constantmotive for

bring ing them together, and that of Grimm

se rved fo r both the friends. As Grimm was a fo

reigne r he was very desirous of making acquaint.

ance at Pari s, and R ousseau introduced him to

Dide rot, to the Barond’

Holbach , to Madame de

and many other pe rsons celebrated for

the ir birth and talents .

Young , and o f a warm constitution, Grimm

had some love affai rs at Pari s, o f,which the fol

lowing appears sufficiently remarkable to deserve

be ing reco rded . He became passionately ena»

moured o f a virtuous nymph belonging to the

Ope ra, who se name was Mademo iselle Fel. But

the fair, strange to relate,

rejecting h is advances,

he was entirely overset and fellinto a sort o f ca

talepsy wh ich continued for several days: He

remained stretched onh is be d, w ith h is eyes fix ed

and allhis limbs stifl'

ened, without speaking, .

with

out eating, withoutshewing any kind o f sensibility.

His friends believed h im dead ; the Abbé Raynaland Rousseauwatched by his bed for severalnights

successively. The physicianM. Senac augured

better than they d id ; and in fact one mo rningGrimm ro se suddenly from h is bed , dressed him

self, went about h is business and never thought

more o f h is chaste Lucretia.

The adventure , however, gave h im great re

nownamong the fair sex . From th is moment it

appeared hilly established thatGrimmwas th e mostsentimentaland the mo st passionate of lovers, and

some private memo i rs autho riz e the belief that hedid not find alllad ies equally cruelw ith Mademo i

selleFel Unluckily too much good fo rtune , wh ichis apt to co rrupt the heart, co rrupted his w some

degree ; Jean-Jacques at least asse rts that he he

came self-sufficient, proud and'

arrogant, and thathe

gave h imself impe rtinent airs ."t Be thatas it:may,

Jean-Jacques from this time resolved ne ver to see

him more .

Grimm paid very great attention to h is per-F.

son. He was not handsome ; h is eye s were large

and prominent, and the tout-ensemble o f his phy

-y

siognomy had in it someth ing odd and d iscordant,

butartwas abundantly employed by h im to assi st

nature . His to ilette was a bus ine ss o f the h ighest

impo rtance , and on h is dressing table were bo x es

o f red and wh ite paint as onthat o f a fine lady.

Th is folly became so public that tho se who did

notlo ve him, and who knew that‘

he fillied up the

strong lines o f h is cheeks with Spanish-wh ite ,

called h im the tyrant Le Blane . ButGrimm was

M. de Marmontclinh is memo irs o f h imself, recountingsome instances o f the wayward humours o f Ro usseau, amongo th ersmentions that He couldnever pardonGrimm fo r havingtakenprecedence o f h im at the house o fMadame de l

‘

Epinay ;

we may see inh i s memo irs how his mo ro se vanity revenged

itself fo r th is o ffence .

" Me'

moires de Marmonlel, Vol. I I I , page

21 1 . lt is no doubt to th i s circumstance Grimm alludes in th e

article whereinh e treats o f the death and character ofMadame

de l'

Epinay, wh ich willbe found inVol. IV. o f these Anecdo tes .

—Tus aur o x .

” agreeable insociety, be bed so mucli trivacity,so much

‘

ready wit, that he was the first to turnthe laugh upontho se thatlaughed at h im.

The Count de F dying , Grimm di splayedthe utmo st grie f for h is loss, and itwas necessaryto force h im away from the Spot wh ere he had lo st

h is benefacto r and friend . He was carried to the

Hotelde Castries, where every mo rning he used to

walk by h imself in the gardens and weep fo r h is

loss , hold ing to h is eyes a handkerch ief mo istened

with tears. Rousseau indeed asserts that he onlywept whenany one was lo oking at

'

h im, butwhen

he thought h imself unobserved h is handkerchie f

was pnt into his pochet, and a book was takenout

to supply its»

place . But Rousseau was becometowards the m i d hi s life so moro se , so prejudicedagainst Grimm,

th at h is te stimony may ve ry well

be suspected‘l';

When the I talian Bufih pe rfo rme rs came to

Pari s, Grimm took the ir part very warmly. The

capitalwas then d ivided into two strong p arties ;

the one , which was co rnpo sed o f the elderly peo

ple , the great, the'

rich , and the women, adhered

strenuously to Rameau, and de fended the French

music ; the othe r consisting o f the ardent spirits

among the young men, who are always enthu

Marmontelrelates thatwh ile M. de Grimmwas secretaryto the Count de Frise , he used to give a d inner everyweek to h isfriends, At. these batchelo r's dinners, h e says, there reigned

the utmo st frankness and gaiety, butthis was a kind o f ch ee r .

inwh ich Rousseau partoo k very mo derately.

" Mémo ires de

Marinad e}, Vol. 1 . page 33 7.- Tuusr.u oa.

siasts, always fond of novelty, supported the

Buffet perfo rmers and the Italianmusic. Trou

ble and confusion rei gned among the box es, inthe pit and inthe lobb ie s. The Italianpartisansranged themselves atthe Opera below the Queen

‘

s

hot, the French below the K ings, and th is gave

"

occas ion to the two parti es be ing called.The

K ing’

s co rner and The Queen'

s corner. Grimm

was fo r: the Queen’

s corner and distinguished

h imself in support o f the party. The royalists

attempting to turnthem into rid icule, he answered

by a little pamphle t fullof wit, gaiety, and taste,

called The little Prophet of Boehmischbroda. The

other sid e beginning to argue with h im, h e si-f

lanced them by A L etter onFrench Mus ic. Th is

le tte r was taken up with great warmth , and no

th ing less was talked o f than the autho r be inge x ile d o r sent to the Bastille ; for a frivolous gO

ve rnment thinks that it ought to defend its sin

gers with as much warmth as it de fends its from

tie rs. Th is warmth , however, subs ided after

awh ile, and Grimm far from be ing bastilled, wasevery whe re ex tolled!to the skies by the partisans

of the Italian.milsie .

I do no t know whethe r: M. de Grimm’

s

knowledge inpainting was equalto his knowledgeinmusic, butDidero t had no he sitationincallingh im h is imaster. I f I

'

have ,”says he to him in

one of his letters, any co rrect no tions upon

painting and sculpture , it is to youthat f owe

One would howe ver be tempted to b e

lieve'

that the scholar in the latter end became

mo re anadept than the maste r, since we find the

latte r ascribing to Guercino a picture which in

reality i s Guido’

s. Such ane rro r cannot be passed

over, eveninanamateur who has any knowledge

whateve r uponthe subject.

M. de Grimm’

s connections w ith the ch iefs of

the Encycloped ia and with people o f the first rank

inFrance , the variety of h is knowledge and the

pliab ility of his mind, could not failto opento

h im a ve ry splend id career. For some years he

was secretary to the commanderies o f the Duke

o f Orleans . From that time he kept up a literaryco rrespondence with severalGe rmanPrinces, par

ticularly with the Duke o f Sax e-Gotha. He was

flattered with rece iving many instances o f distin

guished friendsh ip and esteem from the Empress

o f Russia, the great Frede ric o f Prussia, and

Gustavus I ll, K ing of Sweden. He was mo re

particularly honoured‘

with the confidence of Ca

therine ll, whom he had vi sited at he r court.

The style o f h is writings is notalways pure, some

germanisms may be found in it, but it i s always

gay, lively, spirited , and i s d istinguished mo re

thanallby an ex treme frankness, which be yet

knows how perfectly to conciliate with the respect

and deference due to so vere igns.

M. de Grimm was a ph ilosopher, but h is

philosophy was of a kind that every gentlemen

and honest manmay fairly avow. I twas a philo

sophy wh ich enlighte'

ns without scorching, wh ich

respects order and the laws. The Co rrespondence

prove's that h e d id not share inany way the ex

cease s of some o f the llotbraincd child ren o f the

EncycIOped ia, who , intend ing to se rve the cause of

reason, were betraying i tat every'

mcment. Th is

characte r o f w isdom and mode ration acquired

h im ribbands and di gnitie s, wh ich we re honourablyo btained , without intrigue and without meanness.

In 1 776 the Duke o f Sax e-Go tha appo inted h im

h is ministe r plenipo lcntiary tn the Court o f

France itwas thenthathe became a mano f qua

lity, and that h is plebe ianname o f Grimm waschanged to the Baron de Grimm. His habits

were no t changed in consequence , he continued

h is lite rary co rrespondence as be fo re , and ac

quitted h imself like”

a man o f sense and unde r

stand ing lnh is new employment.

When th e sto rmy days o f. the revolution

clouded the atmo sphere o f France , and that it

was no longer po ss ible fo r the ministe rs o f fo re ign

powe rs to remainat Paris, M. dc Grimm retired

to the court o f the Dulce o f Sax e -Go tlla,and ac

ceptedc

the asylum ofi'

e red h im there by that

Prince . In1795 the Empre ss o f Russia, who

had a particular regard fo r h im,appo inted him

her ministe r plenipo tentiary to the States o f the

Circle o f Lower Sax ony. Paul1 . confirmed him

inthis post, and be fulfilled the duties of itan,in consequence of a seve re illness

,he lo st the

sight o f one eye, which o bliged h im to withdraw

entirely from business. He then fix ed h is resi

deuce once more at Gotha. I twas mere that he

passed the last years of his life,still faithfulto

th e duties he had always che rished, cultivatinglearning and the arts as long as h is strength would

pe rmit him. He d ied the nineteenth of Decem

ber, 1 807 .

Be sides the two pamphlets wh ich have been'

mentioned in the course o f th is sketch, we have

fromM. de Grimm a LatinDissertationuponthe

History of Max imilian 1 , some GermanLetters ,

and a few other trifle s, a list o f wh ich may be

found inthe Dictionary of Measel.

To a ready conception be jo ined alively and

gay imaginati on, anuprightmind, anenlightened

and co rrect judgment, and a great variety o f

knowledge . His critici sms were always just and

impartialwhen they d id not concernFreron, Cle‘

ment, Palissot, o r any o f the enemie s of the ph i

losoph ical party. Butwas the cause o f the Encycloped ia to be defended, he then could take no

raillery, but overpowe red h is antagonists with

sarcasms, with ridicule, with epigrams, and some

times erenwith invectives.

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Panegyric of R einhard , the slmemaker, by the K ing of

PrussiaT ranslationo f Thomson

'

s Seasons

U ponMr. Hume’

s Dissertationonthe Rules ofTaste

Letter from J. J . R ousseauto M. Palissot a o

Complaint o f M. de Saint Fo i x against the Ch ristian

JournalL etter from the K ing o f Pruss ia to the Marquis d

’Argens 30!

Histo ry o f the RussianEmpine under Peter the C rest, by

M. de Voltaire .

The Fair Penitent, a T ragedy byM. Colardeau, imitated

from the English .

OnM. d e Laurent’s inventiono f anartificialarm. .

Mademo iselle Co rneille patronised by M. de Voltaire .

J. J . Rousseau’

s wo rk onEducationpublished .

Examinationof J. J. R ousseau’

s wo rk onEducation.The Death of Socrates, a Tragedy, by M. d e SauvignyDeath of M. de Crehillon, the elder .

Sequelto the Examination o f J . J. Rousseuu’s work on3 40

Sed itiouaLetter, published atGeneva, infavourofRousseaui

ssat

Saracen's FablesCollectionof every thing published respecting the Calla

Family

Charge brought against the physician, Bo rden, by M

Bouvard .

Conve rsation between the autho r and a lady, onthe Me

mo irs of Madame de

Death of Louis Racine, unto the greatRacine.

Death ofM. de Marivaux , and remarksuponhis works.Death of Bouchardon, the Sculpto r

Madame Belot’s translationof Hume’aHistoryW ” of calu’

s

0 PageSecond volume of M. de Voltaire

’

s Histo ry of Peter the

Translationo f the Tragedy o f Tancred and Sig ismunda

Wo rks o f Stanislaus, King Of Poland

Translationo f Lady M.W. Montague’

s Letters

The Earlof Warwick, a tragedy by DI . d e la Harpe .

Two ex traord inaryi

chnld reno f Mo zart, the musician

Letters writtenfrom the country by M. Tronchin

MEMOI RS AND ANECDOTES.

PAR T TFI E.FI RST.

May 1750.

Inthe communications re quired o f us, we shall

pay little attentionto those pamphlets with wh ich

Par is is daily inundated by bad writers, and

would-be beans: apt-its : a set of be ings who are

among the inconveniencies attached to literature .

We shallrather endeavour to give anexactaccount

of. and fair criticisms uponsuch bo oks as deserve

the public attention; not suffering , in particular,any thing to escape us thatmay appear interestingto the curiosifyof foreigners. These pages willbe

consecrated to .truth,to confidence, and to frank

ness. The fri endship inwh ich we are united with

many menof letters, o f wh om we shallhave oc

casionto speak, shallinno way influence our judgment. In relating th e impressions uponthe pub

h , we shallendeavour always to suppo rt our own

Opinionswith valid reasons.

Paar I a—Von. I .

HrsronrcanA ND L I TERARY 1 753

The Abbe Reyna] o f the Academy o f Scien

ces and Belles-Lettres in Prussia, has just pre

sented the w o rld with two volumes insvc. under

the title o f H istorical, Military , and PoliticalAnecdotes ofEamp e,from the elevati onof Charles

Me Fifth , to the Imp erialThrone, to the Treaty

of A im-la-Chap elle , in I t i s the com

mencement o f a considerable wo rk, th e se quelo f

wh ich the Autho r promise s, if theh eginning should

meetthe public approbati on. Th e Abbé Raynalis

already known to the wo 1ld, by two publications,which have gone th rough several ed itions : The

History ef the Stad thold erate , and The History ofthe Parliament of Eng land . He has beenre

proached,notwith outreason, with a fatiguing andinvolved style,with a rage fo r antitheses, and with

g iving portraits sketch ed by chance , and loaded

with contradictions: ina wo rd, with amanne r toobrilliant, wh ich has so much the less claimto indulgence , as i tmakes great pretensions to charm,r

and seeks to impo se uponthe reade r, by false o r

naments. The first merit o f a painte r, particularly where h istory i s concerned, is fidelity ; and

thattruth o f colouring which is o ftenindependento f the facts, and is evenunconnected with their

truth , is ind isputably the first thlent of a h is

torian.

The Abbe Raynal tells us, in h is adver

tisement, that he has endeavoured, in th is new

work, to correct thae faults . His do cility and

1 763

mendation, especially in anag e whenthese are

qualities no tmuch infashionamong meno fletters.

His planis grand , splendid , and entertaining . He

begins wi th a ve ry interesting epoch inh isto ry, .th e

elevation of Charle s th e Fifth to the ImperialThrone . Itwas from thattime thatthe system o f

Euro pe , such as we see it at the present day, was

established ; its h isto ry is ever since a connected

chain o f events, which has ex tended to our owntimes . The two volumes inquestionare d ividedinto seven

'

epochs, o r seven parts. F irst, the

electiono f Charles the Fi fth inPug s - Secondly,the civilwars o f Spainin1 620and 1 521 .

the war o f Nayarr‘e inlee le—Fom thly , the wars

betweenCharles the Fi fth and Francis th e First,

from 1 52 1'

to l544 .-F{flhly , th e re volutionwh ich

to ol: place in,Swedenbetween1 5 1 5 and 1 544.

S ia'thly , the h istory o f the d ivo rce of Henry the

Eighth ,o f England, and Catherine of Arragon,

between1527 and l5 34.—Seventhly , the h istory o f

the conspi racy o f Fie sco in 1 546 and 1 547 .—I t

appears-to me that «the autho r has seiz ed, very

happily, th e manner inwh ich the histo ry o f anyage ought to be wri tten. M . de Voltai re has given

us an e x cellent modelof th e kind inh is Ag e ofLouis the Fourteenth. Y ou willnot find inthe

Abbe Raynal’

s wo rk, the genius, the fire , and the

pencilo f M. de Voltaire , but youwillfind muchclearness, much penetration, much logicalreason

ing , and a great lo ve o f truth ; qualities wh ich

oughtto be very sufficient for those who wish to

B 2

4 ars'

ronrcar. A ND sm unv

be agreeably instructed . His style is perhapsnet

natural, but it is no longe r fatiguing ; some ia

stances o f negligence might be cited, butwhere

are th eynot to he found. The literati have not

failed to reproach lurnwith this occasionalincor

rectness, and stillmo re with the number o f po r

traits introduce d into”

the wo rk. I t is certainthat

tho se wh o are very conversantwith the writings of

Plutarch , w illnot easily reconcile themselves to

th is manner. . That g reat master in the art o f

writing had no occasionto draw po rtraits, he had

the secret of showing us'

the manhimself.

But injudging awork, we should beg inwithappro ving, or apologi z ing fo r the planand fo rm;

itwould be useless to dwellupondetails, if the form

he d ispleasing . Allow iug then, that of th e AbbeBaynal

’

awo rk to pass, i tmust be acknowledged

thatth e po rtraits h ere g ivenare notloaded like the

fo rmer with antitheses and contradictions, and that

h e has taken a more ample View o f themenh eintended to paint. Anothe r charge ,

wh ich might

be brought against the Abbé, and one which has

been o ftenurged against Tacitus, is, ex cess o f

reasoning and sagaci ty. I t i s want of properlyknowing mankind , to endeavour to po intout thereasons and the secret springs that have produced

events, though it must be owned that th is i s spe

cions inappearance , if experience were notagainstit. But the ph iloso pher sees plainly that hero es .amidst the tumult o f business, canno t reasonas

their h istorians do in the i r clo sets, and thatthe

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6 H I STOR I CAL A ND uranaav 1 753

four squadrons. The Marshal shews, with much

precision, th e advantages o f th is arrangement: it

is probable, h owe ver,that itwillne ver take place ,for th is reason,

”that men, who are drawnonby

nature towards the ir ruin, may easily be co rrupted ,

and change to wo rse, -but that they w illne ve r have

the strength o f mind to li stento reas on,-and reform

abuses . At the end o f th is pamphlet i s a very re

markable letter wri tten in 1 750, by th e Marshal

to the Count d ’

Argenson, thenministe r‘

atwar, on

the subject o f the new ex e rcise introduced amongthe French troo ps. The h ero speaks out plainly ;

he says that the French infantry, fromwant o f

discipline, though o therwise among the bravest

troops inEurope, canno t fight inthe plain, and

he pro ves h is posi tionby ex amples, ever since the

commencement o f the c entury. All'

the afi‘

airs s inwh ich the French have had th e advantag e, he says ,

h ave beenaffai rs o f po sts, alltho se inwh ich th eyhave beenbeaten, have been renconnte rs on the

plain. The e x ample o f the army o f M. de Tu

renne , is no pro o f to the contrary : the infantry he

says were then well-d isciplined , o r at least the

d iscipline of the enemy:was no t better, wh ichamounts tonearly the saine th ing . He maintains

that the French would never have dared to under

take cro ssing a plainwith a bodyo f infantry, b e;

fore anumerous bo dy o f cavalry, and would never

have maintained the ir g round se veralh ours with

fifteen o r'

twenty battalions, inthe midst o f an

enemy,as theEnglish did at the battle of Fontenoy;

mauo xs s A ND ans cno ras . 7

w ithoutbeing shakenby the effo rts ofithe i r cavalry.

He Speaks every where w ith the frankness o fwh ich

g reatmenonly are capable .

Th is Treatise must necessarily increase the

generalimpatience , to see th e Rem i es o f th is?singgular and illustr ious manwh ich he has left inthe.

hands o f h isnephew the Count de Friese .

,June 1756.

ThePoliticalTestamentof Card inalAlberoni ,collected from various memo i rs, letters , and con

versations o f h is eminence, has just beenprinted atLausanne, in Switz erland.

' I t is said that we are

indebted for the publicationto a pro fessor of that

townwho was very intimate with th e Cardinal,

and thatthe Te stament i s th e substance o f manyconversati ons wh ich he ~had w ith him ; others say

that it i s compiled frompapers leftby the card inal.

Be th is as itmay, the Edito r mighthave saved h im

self the trouble o f labouring to establish the nu

thentici ty o f the wo rkwh ich he doe s ina very long

preface, taking’

occas ion, at the same time , to

,enter into a discussiono f the d ispute e x cited some

time since byM. de Voltaire , uponthe subject o f

the Politi calTestament o f Card inalR ichelieu. I t

is sufli ci ent to read the wo rk ascribed to Cardinal

Alberoni, to be convi p ced that i t i s'

the producti onof apro fbund, ex tensive , and luminous genius, asto

nish ing eveninhis visions : I say inh is visions, for

vis ions there always must be to a certaindegree in

allpoliticalspeculations. The Cardinal'no sooner

nrsronlcu. AND mu rmur 1 753

opens acaree r to h imself, thanhe runs through it

with arapid ity wh ich willnot permitw ise‘

or

‘

timid

persons to follow h im; it is a vast' and ardentge

nius wh ich embraces e ve ry th ing ataglance , and

wh ich loses itself sometimes inthe immense vortexo f possibilities . Th is defect, if it be one , is theonly one with wh ich the Cardinal can be re

proached ; it pro ves the prod igio ri s fecundity of

h is genius . Since it co sts h im as little to throw

downes to raise great edifices, we cannot be asto g

h ished at see ing h is diflTe rent projects destroy each

other . Nothing is wanting to th is work but to

be better compiled and better written; youwill

observe many things ill-written, ilhanapged , and s

o bscure ; alittle more method and precisionwould

have beenvery desirable , andmighthave beeng iven

to it without di fficulty. As it is a bo ok whichought to be read and studied, we shallenter into

some details inex amining i t, and haz ard some re

marks, the object of which willbe to excite a do e

sire'

o f becoming acquainted w ith it.The first six chapters relate to Spain, and ap

pear, with that onthe ministry o f the Cardinaldo

Fleury, superio r to the othe r parts . They contain

not only the remarks o f a politicianwho has made

deep researches, butthe reflecti ons o f aphilo sophe r

accustomed to,clo se and pro found reasoning , and

who unde rstands mankind tho roughly. How hap

pens i t that a people who by their character and

the ir resources ought to be the first inEurope

have for so long a time beenina state ot'

weakness

1 7 53 uni ons AND “Leno-rm. g

and almost of annfllilation'

? And whatare the re

medies fo r such amisfortune i—These are questions

which occupy the Cardinalv'

ery much . The Spa

niord , who carries elevationof sentiment and the

principles of honour and probity even into the

most trifling things— th e Spaniard, master of the

treasures of America— only wants to be well-go

verned . I t is true the Cardinal does no t sufi

ciently feelthat th is i s a want o f allothers the9 most diflicult to be remedied . Am King is o f

allrare things the most rare to be fouud. The

Cardinalascribes alltlte ills under whi ch Spainhu

so long groaned to the fnnlts of her Kings, enorf‘fi ions i i i -themselves, and constantly incrusing ;but, like a skilfulphysician, at the same time that

he analyses the disease he ind icates the remedies.

I t is wellknown, for ex ample , how much agricnlo

tme isnegleeted inSpain; to encourage it the Cer:

dinalwould have the King himself become'

anagri

culturist. Alberoni , King o f Spain, mightdoubt

less have sueeeedod insetting such aum mple to

his suhiects ; bm it h w b the m ud genmmhas ahend to conceive snch expedients, that is ea

pahle of carrying them into ex ecution. A menof

an ordinary capacity becomes rid iculouswhenhe

eutenuponbold singnlariti es ; he resemhles achild

who mpeets h is lessouw ithoutwarmth and with

out grace, haVing learnt itwithout reflectioua It

is true that amanhas good materials fo r go ing towo rkw ith inapeOple natur

'

ally prone to greatand

splendid things, it only requi res eome address to

ursro rtlcar. sunLI TERARY 1 753

g ive an air Of grandeur to Whateve r he seeks to ,

bring forwards. Th is ex pedient, o f wh ich Kings

rarely know how to availthemselves, would without doubt be a sonrce of greathappiness to a state ;Would j tno t be much better to establish laws ona system o f ~rewards fo r do ing good thanonone of

me re penalties for misdeedsj -w -A father, to makeh imself o beyed by h is ch ildren, encourages them

by p romi se s. Fo r the rest,none o f the Cardinal’sremarks seem to have d iminished the grand ideahehas conee ived of the Spanish character,and inthisway be sem

'

aup his reflectionsuponit:“Although

“this nationseems as i f it ought to

"

be atthe headof allthe people of Europe , histo ry informs us

‘

that, inspite o f her numerous

has neve r played a very supe rior or a very brilliant-part. From the time o f th e quarrelbetweenCarthage and Rome, Spain, almost always go

versed by foreigne rs , always cons idered as apro

Vince , has o ften been the theatre of their' e x

plo its and the reward o f the ir victo ries.

” —Pero

ha’

ps the tenromantic and to o tranquilelevationo f mind o f the Spaniard do es not pe rmit him,

whatever the Cardinalmay say, to carry into his

pursuits that warmth and activity withoutwh ich

noth ing caneve r be efi'

ected .

Allthat the Cardinalsays relative to the Pre

tender appeargto be concei ved with great justice ;it is a ch imera to wish to replace h im onthe throne

of England whenno po ssible, good could result

from it.

1 755 um o ras AND anxcnor ss .

Th e chapte r onthe ministry o f Cardinal'

Henry is admirable, as we have h inted abo ve . The

partisans bf th ismini ste r and MarshalBelle -Isle

must be so much th e mo re di ssatisfied with it, as

it istoo fo rci ble no t to strike eve ry body.

'

Albe -l

roni sh ows plainly how' much H enry was obt of

h is.place, how enti rely the turno f h is character;

to o little , to o timi d , to o much g ivento minutire ,incapacitated h im fromgo ve rning properly such a

nationas France .

Allthat our autho r says uponthe interests of

the Germanic body, Uponthe Pragmhatic sanction

o f th e Emperor Charles the Six th , is equally just.The partitiontreaty, wh ich he devises as a suhati

tute Fm the forme r, ch ime ricalas it i s, sh ows th e

vast ex tent o’

f the Cardinal’

s v iews. The chapter

onHolland , altho ugh filllof ideas, is long and illdens ;

‘

it ought to have beenmore clear, more meé

tho d ical, and mo re concise . That onthe North is

not suffici ently detai led. Such is the gene ralidea

of th is impo rtant wo rk ; it remains to po int out

some passages wh ich struck us mo re particularly.

The Cardinal speaks very forcibly againsta

great multipli ci ty o f charge s, and ofli ces ; they

only pro ve , h e says, the embarrassment o ccasionedto aState by its inhabitants . They who are repeat

ing incessantly ath ing true initself; that th e real

strength o f a State consi sts inthe number o f its

inhab itants, should beg inby teaching us the secretof employing them

-usefully.

The splendid and useless embassy o f M. dc

ai sro s rcu. AND LlrnnAnv 1 75 3

Belle -I sle to Frankfort, and the misfo rtunes o f

wh ich i t was the cause , g ive occasionto the Car

d inalto remark, that perhaps the most impo rtant.

defect which a g reat project can have is to be

loaded with superfluous branches ; they are seldom

me rely useless , and wheninjurious they are always

very essentially so .

Our autho r does th e Empero r Leopold the

honour of believing that the assistance he gave

the houses of Sax ony and Brandenburg , inpro

curing themselves the regaldignity, was the effect

of policy. To succeed ,”says he, one day in

“making the Electo rs his subjects he hadno means“more certain than to beg in by making them

Kings.”

-Inth is opinionI behave the Cardinal

to be to a two-fold erro r. Imprimis, he appears to

ascribe to Leopold views wh ich h e had not; and it

i s no uncommonthing fo r politicians wh o have

ve ry extensive and well-combined views th emselves

to g ive others creditfo r having the same . To me

it appears that the Empero r only then saw how

necessary itwas to attach those two h ouses closely.to him ; he -never th ought of th e efi

'

ects that such

a change would produce infifty o r si x tyyears. In

the second place , if the Emperor had really as eu

larged i deas as the Cardinal imputes to him, he

was certainly dece ived as to the means by which

they we re to be carried into effect. Fo r, not to

mentionthe King o f Poland, inwhom the regal

dignity is nothing but anempty title , the Emperor

ought to have foreseenthat inassisting the house

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ntsa'o arcs ‘r. AND LITER ARY 1 758

The Cardinalcompares Sweden to a rimlet

become a torrent, which the enlarg ement o f its

bed renders less considerable, tillnew meltings o f

the snows pro duce againthe means o f filling i t.

This compari sonappears to me e x tremely new,

brilliant, and appropriate .

A criticism made by h im uponthe Presi dent

dcMontesqui eu struck me as ex tremely just andsensible . The Spirit o f system,

”h e says, is

no tle ss dangerous inpolitics thaninphilo sophy.

The re is a good dealo f temerity inseeki

ng th e

causes o f the grand eur and decline o f the R0

mans, inthe Consti tutiono f the ir State . Events

inwhich human prudence had the leastpo ssibleshare are epochs rather thanconsequences it

belongs to h isto ry alone to detailthe causes of

thegrandeur and fallo f States . We must oh

serve h ere , afte r the Cardinal, thatM. de Montes

qureuhas falleninto th e same erro r, inh is Spi rit

of the Laws, ,with respect to the English Goustie

tutiou. He seeks, and has the secret of always

finding , the causes o f events inthatConstitution.

i f States were arranged , like a system o f philoso

phy. onpaper, th is p ro cedure might answer verywell butwe see every day thatth e greatest events,eventhe laws and constitutiono f a State , are onlythe wo rk o f chance , and of a thousand arbitraryc ircumstances, betweenwhich ind eed alively ima

ginationmight d isco ver some connecti on, th oughnone such ever ex isted inreali ty, and wh ich con

sequently cannever satisfy tho se who seek fo r

truth .

narrow s A ND suz cno ’

rz s. 1 5

I shallnot dwellany longer uponthis“

work,

ex cepting merely to observe , that it is ,a prope r

subject o f study and med itation alike fo r politi~

ciaus and ph ilOSOphe rs .

July 1 753 .

Th e quarrels be tweenthe parliament o f Parisand the Court, the ex ile

,

of the parliament, and

the transfe r o f the Grand Chamber to Ponto ise ,

are events wh ich fo rmed subjects o f conve rsati on

and amusement to Paris fo r four-and-twenty h ours .

Allthat the respectable body inquestionhas done

fi r a twelvemonth past, to me rit the attentionof

the public, has ne ver beenable to e x cite a thi rtie th

part of what has beenbestowed uponthe revolu

tion that has takenplace inth e musi calworld .

The Italianacto rs wh o have performed fqr the last

m months onthe stage of the OperaatParis , and

who are Called here boufi ns , have so comple telyabsorbed the

-

attentiono f the Paris ians, that the

w liammt, no twi thstanding its proceed ings haveso just a claim to celebrity, could no t failo f beiw enfi rely M iocwd . A. person o f some pene

trution obwrved that the arrivalo f Manelli prevented a ci vilwar among us, since but far this

G ent the idlers and gossipe rs would undoubtedlyM i re h en occupied with the disputes be twee p theparliament‘

aud the clergy,sand tmfanan'

dsmwith

wh ich people’s head s are; eas ily -heated mighthave

IN to fewm um s.

Mamelli is the name of the Italianperfo rmer

16 nm oarcs r. sunmummy 1 753

who plays inthe interludes. His po rtrai tincrayons,inthe characterwhich h e sustains inaninterludeentitled The M CMaster. has beenpainted inavery supe rio r manner, and willbe exh ibited th is

year inthe salo ono f the Ro yalAcademy o f Painting at the Louvre ; it is done by M. de La-Tour,who has carried his art to greatperfection. We

reserve to a future period to speak of the strange

revolutioneffected by the

g ive a mo re just ideaAtpresentletus return

A few days after its ex ile we had here at once

two o r throsed itions of the Remm tm wh ich

it would have made to the King , and which h isMaj efly did not th ink mom to hear. At the

h ead of these Remomtmuces are the subjects uponwh ich they were to run, and wln

'

eh aee se

much the mo re forcible ae th ey are of the ex

tremest simpli ehy. The first part of them is

loosely put togethm' md long , the m d iq moro

compact and more spirited. Inp ueralthe m

they have m twith at Paris has not bausuch as

mightbe ex pected, oomidering that the work is w

entitled Traém y the fod s wh ehW rai th

W m s q'mw m allfi s w

m g’ mm Judga mw w tm m

1 753 x enon: AND ANECDOTls. I 7

W inorder to mainlain the observance gfthe loans, and to secure the public trmrqm

'

llity .

Th is pamphlet, inwhich is collected togeth er, fo r

the instructiono f th e faithful, allthe attempts Of

the cle rgy agains t the secular power, is almost as

amusing as ano vel. we learnfrom it that inthe

fourteenth century the clergy had fo rbiddennew~

married couples to sleep tog ether fo r the first three

nights of the ir marriage under a cons iderable fine,and that the parliament was obliged to make a

pro visional regulationwh ich bo re in. substauce,

that as to aman’

s not sleep ing with his wife at thecommencement of the marr iag e, it should be per

mitted fbr him to do so tillthe time whenafinaldecis ionwas made uponthe question. Th is tempo

rary indulgence was followed by a d efinitive decree

inwh ich it was freely permitted to the new-mar

r ied couple to sleep together from the ve ry com

mencement of the marriage, withouthaving re

course to the bt p for his sanction.

The seat inth e Academy vacated by the death

of tho Archb isho p of Sens has just beenconferredonM. de Bufl

'

on, Inspector o f the King’

s Bo tanic

Garden, 11 Member o f the Academy o f Sciences,and author of the NaturalHistory . The add ition

of such aman cannot but do greathonour to theAcademy, as h is genius has long contributed to thehonour o f the nation. M. de Bufi

'

oni s gone one

little ex cursion into Burgundy, whence he will

or

nts'roarcar, AND m u aar 1753

cei ved into the Academy ; th is willbe a few days‘

before the festivalof St. Louis;3

zThis seatwas at first destined by the Acadef

my and by the public vo ice to M. Pi ron, author of

Gustavus and some o ther pieces, butmo re especiallyo f LaMetromam

'

e, which i s a chg'

o d'

amvre inits

way, and the only one that canbe called so , o f all

the comed ies i produced since the death o f the

sublime Moliere . Two days befure that fix ed for

the election.

o f M. Pi ron, the King sent for the

President de Montesquieu, whom fate had made

directo r of the Academy fo r this occasion, and ia

formed h im, that, having heard of the . intentions

o f the Academy to elect M. Pi ronas the ir new

member, and knowing that gentlemanto be the

autho r o fmanylicentious writings, he wished them

to fix uponsome o ther pe rsonto fillup the vacancy.

At'

the same timef h is Maje sty declared that he

would not have any one chosenfrom among the

o rder o f advocates . I t i s said that th is service has

beenrendered to M.Pi ronby the devout, with th e

antt bish op of Mirepo i x at the ir head . Piron

says that it i s a blow with the crosier wh ich he has

rece ived from the bishop, and that th is prelate

found h is ownpicture inth e fourth stanz a of a

famous o de writtenby the poet, which has beenmade use o f againsth im onthe pre sent occasion

thus is amanex cluded who se talents would have

done honour to the Academy.

M. de Montesquieu hav ing made knownthe

K ing’

s pleasure to the Academicians, the Marshal

1 753 unuo ras AND sweep e r-as. Lg

dc Rich elieupropose d that the electi onshould be'

po stponed fo r i tendays, thattime mightbe allowedto fi x -upon some other personworthy to . fillthe

place . Th is advice was adepted by a plurality o f

vo ices,alth ough th e Abbé Olivetpronounced it to

be unprecedented and indecent. The mainbus iuem

o f fi x ing the election be ing concluded , MarshalR ich elieuloudlydemanded to knowwheth er amongthe m ics o f the Academy there were no pains o r

penalti es pronounced against tho se who ing ivingthei r sufi

'

rages should employ terms so o ffensive as

unprecedented and indecent? 'M. Duclos said re

prove and pardon, such i s the law. The vo ices were

collected , when it was unanimously agreed that

M:Olivet could not unde rstand the fo rce o f the

terms he had used. Such was th e aha -piece wh ich

concluded thi s meeting, and at the ex pi rationof

th e tendays M. de Buttonwas elected by alarge

majo rity of votes .

M. de Bongainville , secretary to the Academyof Inscriptions and Belles-Le ttuce, who has trans

lated the Anti Lucretius if the Cardinalde Po

lignac, whi ch no body has read , and has written

A Parallel betweend lexander and Thamas Kouli

Iran, which nobody canread, has had the assur

ance to contest this place with M. Piron, M. de

Butfi m, M. d’

Alembert, and many o the r men, of

very superio r merit. The public attribute the ex

elusionof M. Pironvery much to th is young man,who afl

'

ects a great dealof devotion, and who has

tthe reputationof being very quarrelsome . As h is

C 9

so autumn. arm L anna” 1 753

had health was urged as a reasonfo r electing him,

because inallprobability h e would not o ccupy tho

place very long , M. Duclos 'h umo rously Observed

August. 1753.

For some time we have hadnoth ing butwo rks

translated Trom the English . This fashi on has

lasted a much longer time thanfashions ingeneral

continue he re ; nor , acco rd ing to appearances, is

i ts day by any w as past. Since , inconsequence,allthose who se ownwo rks willne ver be read, now

employ themselves in translating the works .of

othe rs, and good works are scarce th ings inallnations, it follows, thata greatmany bad ones aretranslated , and very few go od. A free translation

of a wo rk entitle d The B r itishM'e i 'ohanl is among

the numbe r o f the latte r, and appears of so much

g reate r utility to the French nation inasmuch as

they have scarcely any th ing o f the kind inthe i r

ownla'

ngnag , and that it is .thei r interest, more

than. that'

of any other nationin.Europe , to culti

v ate comme rce , and study whatever h as any eels

eionto it.

The Abbé Isard, of the Ro yalAcademy o f

Belles-Lath es , at Bouen, minister r o f x a-parish in

No rmandy, amano f greatme rit, has just gi ven

us four volumes o f translations from some o f .the

English po e ts,unde r the title o fAnI deay‘

EngEs h

Poetry . Thi s colloction contains, like ano the rcollections that were ever published, a few fine

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nrs'ronleAL AND L I TERARY 1 753

TheManners, which seems to owe its fame to the

good fo rtune o f having beento rnand burnt. Ins

th is wo rk, the autho r has presented us with a

g reat dealof common-place stud; such as is to be

found e very where ; and he now seems to occupy

h imself in translating wo rks which oughtneve r

to be broughtfromthe primevalobscurityto which ,by the ir nature , th eywere doomed . Of this des

criptionis a‘

wretchednovelo f a Little Dog , w i th

wh ich we were favoured by him about two years

ago , and such is the no vel in question, WilliamPickle ; nobody that I have yet met with has

beenable to read it through .

The English have a species of domestic novelwhich is entirely unknownto the French. Of th is

kind are the novels of Fielding , an admirableauth or of the present day, who has.justpublished

anew one under the title of Amelia. This writer

merits undoubtedly a d istinguished place amongthose who have added to the reputationof thei r

country; he is pe rfectly o rig inal, a g reat painter

of humannature , is always true , and sometimes

no less sublime thanMoliere . His TomJones, or

taste is notatallsurpri sing:since th e manners are th ose o f a pe o

culis r class o f people only inthe country,not evengeneralnational

manners, and can, the re fo re, hardly be understood by fo re igners.o r, i f unde rstoo d , not such as th ey could be at allex pected to

relish. The same remarks may, perhaps, apply. ingreat measure,to Pompey the Little . a censure of wh ich willbe found as the

under proceeds—Translator.

1 753 artwo rks awnam nm s .

than} and , above all, 'hi s Joseph'Andrews and

1la Abraham Adams , are works e x cellent in

the ir kind , fullo f character, and d isplaying true

genius. It appears astonish ing, at the first glance,thatthe French; who have inthe ir language many

go od novels , have none which paint th e i r domestic

mmme rs

’

and habits . When one refle cts a little,

h owever, the mystery is e x plained, and we findthat, if they h ave no pi ctures of th is kind , it is

not”

fo r want of painters, but for want of o riginals.

Whenthe characters of‘

our‘

beaua' and belles have

beensketched, thematerials are ne arly e xhausted ;

we are presented with almo st allthenationaltraitsthat could be introduced into a French domestic

novel. Of th is kind are the wo rks o f MlC reb il

Ion, tbe , younger, which are th e only no vels we

have that can properly be called of a domestic

nature. Noyels, inthe style of tho se o f the AbbePrevost, are o f a diil

'

erent class , I sh ould rath er

compa'

re tbem to tragedy, and the materials that

fo rm tragedy are nearly th e same among peo ple o f

ali enations, because the greate r pas sions of wh ich

i t treats . are universal, and belonging to humannature itself, are everywhe re actuated by the samesprings. But comedy and dome sti cnovels must h e

;

cessarily be diffe rent among di fferent peo ple, be

‘ He re againa remark must be made uponami stake o f theFrench auth or, inascribmg th e no velof Charlotte Summers to

Field ing ; th e English reader snllknow. at once, that it is notthe

productionof h is pen. The French are inthe e rro r o f ascribingmanymore no vels to Field ing thanhe ever wrote some of Smo l

lett'

s novels are ascribed to h im, among wh ich , if I amnot V8 I7mach mistaken, i s Coast Fam e- W ar.

1 753

cause they paint those minor features of character

wh ich properly fo rm what we understand by the

characteristic feature s o f the nation, and inwh ich

no two nations resemble each other .

It would, perhaps , then be butaccurate to‘

say that the Punch have no domestic novels, and

that they have had no comed ie s sinceMaltese , be

canse they have had no national manners ; and,go ing a step farther, to conclude that they have

had no nationalmanners, because none but freenations have any.

~ That little conntry, knownbythe name of Greece ,- what variety of characters

did itnotcontaini—What could be more difl‘

ereut

thanthe characters o f the Athenian, the Spartan,the Thelma, the Macedonian -All th ese people .

however, inhabited the same climate : but li bertyand the i rlaws, wh ich we re founded uponthis basis,no t only d istingui shed each , as a peo ple, ina verystr iking manne r from th e othe r, but broughtfo rth ,w ith features scarce less strongly marked , the pe e

culiar character o f each indi vidual. No constraint

“ knowninso ci ety, every one dared to be h im

self. he did no t endeavour to resemble o thers, to

follow one model, according to the rules of go odbreeding which we have established. I t is owingto thi s reputation, and to the generald isposi tionwh ich is the consequence of it, thatwe have no

longer any manners, any character, amongstus .

Letm y one go into a c ircle o f fifteen o r twenty

“persons,and remainthere three hours togeth er, it

would scarcelybe possible for himto distinguish the

1753 1 1m m AND “m or es. 25

foolfrom the manof wit and talents, allhold the

same opinions, alltalk th e same jargon, each one

is -a p e rfect resemblance o f the o the r, that isto

say, no one , pro perly speaking , resemble s anyth ing these are reasons sufficientwhy we have no

domestic novels. Add to th is, that allthe states

are couh unded insociety ; that the Great Lord,

the magistrate, the financier, the manof letters, th e

artist, are treated inthe same manner ; we have ,therefore , prope rly speaking, no state at allbutthat of aManof the Wb rld, and consequentlynoother fo ible s but tho se of apetitqnatlre . The

English , on the contrary, have preserved , with

the ir libe rty, the pri vilege of being each one indi

vi rlnaliyv such as nature has fo rmed h im, o f not’

concealing h is Opinions no r th e prejud ice s and

manners of th e pro fessionto wh ich he belongs .

For thi s reasonmany of the ir domestic novels areex tremely entertaining , even to fore igners, who

have never had anOppo rtunity o f be ing personallyacquainted with English manners, fo r whena pic

ture is wellsketch e d We canfeelits merit, its truth ,and its resemblance , even wi thout having anyknowledge

‘

of the o riginal.

A little novelrecently published has, insome

measure, sugge sted to me th ese reflections. i t i'

s'

entitle d A Journey to Manta , or the Vacationofand is o rnamented with copper

-

plates .

The he ro o f th is novelis a young provincial, des

tined by h is father to the study of the law . Withth is view he is piaced under a solicito r, atParis,

26 memento“. AND u'rm nr 1753

to learnh is business, wh ich solicito r has awife ,some daughters, and some otherelerks. The va

cationarrives , aud the solicitor goes to pass it at

Mantes, taking with h im h is whole family-and our

young pro vincial, the last o f wh om meets with

some love adventures, wh ich fo rm the basis of

the no vel. Here th enwe have a domestic novel,but one wh ich no bo dy can read . I t i s that

,

independently of th e want of talent inthe autho r,the personages are allo f a descriptionwh ich have

no ex istence inpolished so ciety, consequently wecannot feelinterested inthe ir adventures.

The quarters o f La Halls and the Place

Maubert have undoubtedly the irappropriate man‘

ners, and manners very stronglymarked ; buttheyare nottho se o f the nation, and are , the refo re , no t °

fit subjects to be painted . Every one i s (1tw ith the quarrelbetweenthe sempstre ss and th e

hackney-coachmaninthe Marianne o f Mari vaux ,

yetno thing canbe givenmo re ex actly acco rd ing to

nature ; no th ing, however, can be in a worse

-taste thansuch apicture .

September, 1758 .

Onthe day°

o f the Festival of Saint Louis,the Academy held a public sitting , whenM. de

Bufl'

on made h is speech o f admission; it was

answe red by M. de Moncrif, as d irecto r. M . de

Bulfondid no t confine h imself to remind ing us that

th e Chancello r Segnie rwas a g reat man, that Car

dinalR ichelieuwas a very great man, and that

1 753 narrows AND sne cno '

ras .

Louis the Fourteenth,and Louis the Fifteenth were

also greatmen, that the Archbishop o fSens was a

greatman, and inshort thatallthe fo rtymembe rs

ofthe Academy were greatmen. To these common

place topics M . de Bnfl’

ondid not, I say, confine

h imself ; th is justly cele brated man, de spising thevapid and Wearying eulogiums wh ich usually fo rmth e basis of such so rt o f speeches, thought pro pe r

to d iscuss a subjectwo rthy o f h is ,penand o f the

Academy, i rr giving us h is ideas uponstyle . On

th is occasionit has beensaid, that the Academyhad takenamaster inthe art of writing ; itmight

have beenadded, in reference to M. de Moncrif'

s

answer, that it had done well, fo r such a master

was very much wanted .

M. de Bufl'

on’

s spe ech , wh ich has be enprinted,was inte rrupted m th e delivery three o r four times

by bursts o f applause from the whole assemblythat o f M. de Moncri f gave time fo r the enthu

siasm to subside, and the spiri ts to become tranquil. M. de Bufi

'

on, intreating o f style , gave as

himself a pe rfect mo delo f it. His speech merits

not only the attentiono f tho se who are in the

habit o fwriting , and who ought consequently tostudy with the utmo st care h is precepts as wellas

h is practice, it would be no less use ful to tho sewho occupy themselves w ith read ing , only as an

amusement equally ag re eable and satisfacto ry .

By attend ing to h is princ iples, readers would ao

qui re a habit o f d iscriminating the g oo d write rs

from the bad, o f decid ing upon the merits o f a

nm oarcar. urnurns RY 1753

wo rk with taste and judgment, o f selecting and

arrang ing happi ly the subjects o f the i r stud ies ;

th ings wh ich are become ind ispensable since we

are inundated to such a deg ree with w retch ed

pamphlets, and larg e r wo rks o f a verymiddlingkind .

Style , says M. de Bufl'

ou, i s no th ing butthoorde r and mo vement inwh ich we arrange our

th oughts. I f we th ink clo sely, i f we kni t our

ideas well togeth er, the style become s strong ,

nervous, and concise if onthe contrary our id eas

are slow inthe irmarch , and connect themselves

only th rough the med ium of the wo rds , however

elegant th ey may be , th e style willbe d iffuse, po or,

and d ragg ing . To write well is at the same time

to th ink well, to feelwell, and to ex press well;

it i s to have atonce soul, talents, and taste . Style

suppo ses a reonniono f allth e intellectualfaculties ;

ideas alone fo rm the basis o f style ; harmony of

ex pression i s only an accesso ry quality and de

pendsch ieflyuponthe sensibility of th e o rgans.

A little ear i s sufficient to enable awriter to avo id.

discordance of sounds, ,and the ex ercise o f that

ear inread ing some o f our best poets and o rators,

willlead him by fo rce and imitationinto poetical

cadence and orato ricalturns. But imitationnever

created any th ing , and th is harmony of Words

canno t therefo re fo rm the bas is, o r constitute the

essentialtone o f style ; it may even be found inwritings wholly vo i d of ideas .

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HI STORI CA L AN D LI TER ARY

impressi onwh ich the features bear that ought

to strike . The humanmind cannot create any“thing ; what it produces i s not tillafter ‘

ithas

been fertilised by e x pe rience and med itation;“its knowledg e i s th e ge rm o f its productions.

But if it imitate nature in i ts march and inits

labours, if itarrive by contemflati onatthe mostSublime truths , if itcombine and connect them,

if i t form systems by reflection, i twillestablishimmo rtalmonuments onbases wh ich cannot beshaken.

”

M. de Bufl'

onsets out from h ence to ind icate

th e principal ro cks uponwh ich the reputation

of writers is commonly wrecked . I t i s from"

a

wanto fplan, fromno thav ing sufficiently reflected

uponthe o bject he has in view, that a man o f

talents o ftenfinds h imself embarrassed and knowsno twhere to beg iu.

~ He pe rce ives a g reatnumber

o f ideas, but as he has not compared them and

separated the lead ing from. th e subo rdinate ones,he cannot determine wh ich to prefer to the other,

and h e remains inperplex ity.

Noth ing is mo re adverse to realwarmth than

the desire of continually producing striking pas

sages ; noth ing is mo re contrary to being luminous,since light ought to be one body and spread it

self unifo rmly ove r th e ' wh ole wo rk, than tho se

flashes wh ich are only produced by the shock o f

words striking against each o the r ; they daz zle

fo r an instant to leave you directly after inper

foot darkness.

1 753 mu ons AND m ono ras .

Nothing , again, is more ino pposi tibnto true

eloquence thanseeking after fine -spunthoughts,

alter ideas that catch atthe first glance , butwh ich

are unconnected andwithoutcons istence , -which,

like metalbeatve ry th in, only gain inlustre bylo sing insolidity. Inpropo rtionas th is th intinsel

kind of spirit is intro duced into a wo rk, inequal

propo rtionmustthatwo rk’

be deficient instrength ,inclearness, inwarmth , unless the sp i ri t inquestion

.

be o f its very essence , and the write r has no

other obj ect inv iew but raillery. Insuch a case

the art of saying little th ings happily is perhaps

mo re di fi eult than that of saying great ones .

I t i s ve ry much to be presumed , thatM. de Buf

fonintroduced th is last reflectionto r the consola

tiono f[some among h is new breth ren, wh o cannot

p retend to any greater honour thanthat o f beingamo g the se thin tinsel sp irits . The reflection

howe ver doe s not appear just. The art o f s ayinglittle th ings is always a very poo r and petty art, itbelongs to genius alone to say great th ings, art, hasnoth ing to do with it. I would much rather have

said one sublime thing in the course o f my»life ,

thanhave printed a do z envolumes o f li ttle th ings.

I speak here of those light and frivolous w ritings

wh ich fl ea procure a manthe frailand transient

imputati ono f a bet-esprit, but who se productionsm mmonly die befo re h im. There is howev e r a

sublimity inlight raille rywhich genius knows howto se iz e , an

‘

d Moliere has scattered many such

sublimities even inh is farces ; th ere are many of

32 rusroatcar. u p e m ane h as

them also inthe farce of L ’

AvocatPatelia. But

these do not consist o f mere po ints o f light andairy ideas resembling the bubbles o f water by

which childrenare amused, and wh ich present a

variety of colours without having any solid body athey are stroke s o f the pencilwhich escape fromthem of genius, and where this is the case , the

talent of aTenie ts be comes as precious as that ofa

Raphael; bo th are a gift o f ,nature which no artOt

'

study canever produce .

M . de Bufl‘

onbelieves thatWorks wellWri ttenwillbe theugly ones thatwilldeseend to po ste rity.

He thinks thatabundance of knowledge, singula

rity of facts and circumstances, the no velty evenOf discoveries. are . byno means to be considered aslikely to insure immortality. I f the wo rks whi ch

containthese thing s w e only upontrivialobjects,

without ele vation, they will pe rish , since Jmow

ledge , facts, and disco veries are easily transferred,and .may gain by betng thrown into mo re able

bands, but style canno t be transferred , and if that

be added ,to the othe r merits , the work must he

immortal.

October, 116 3.

The fourth volume of.M. de Buffon’

s Natural

Histo rynppeared two days afi er his receptioninto

the French . Academy. It contains anadmi rable

Dissertatiomuponthe nature d anim ls with the

1 7 53 r e sto res AN D ANEC‘

DOTES . 33

work is among the smallnumber that certainlywill, and that alone ought to de scend to po ste rity .

Four years hav e elapse d s inCe Messrs .»d e Bufl’on

and Daubentonpre sented us w ith the first th ree

volumes wh ich were rece ived w ith universalapplause

and d eligh t. When I say universal, I ce rtainlyre ckonas something the Ameri canLetters , and

o ther mise rable pamphletswh ich a spirit o f cavilor

envy have brought fiarward against the immo rtal

wo rk inquestion. Thanks to the maligni ty and

imbecility o fmankind , pamphlets o f » thi s kind are

become indi spensabl-

y ne cessary to the complete

success of awo rk ; it canno t be fully e stablished

w ithoutth em. They-are the productions, as one

o f our ph iloso phers observes, ina work wh ich w ill

shortly appear, o fmenwh o usurp the title of critics

and bemu-espr its, and do not blush to resemble

tho se teas ing insects that pass th e instants o f the ir

e phemeral e x istence in“ d isturbing and annoyingmankind , alike at the ir labours and ‘

inthe ir hours

o f repose . Whenthe se insects bite withoutvenom,

wh enenvy restrains i tself to pamphlets and daily

papers, the mano f genius de spise s b o th th e one

and the other, and would be ashamed o f crush ingso contemptible anenemy. But wh enthe bite -i s

venomous, whencabaland calumny -find the seuot

o f casting anodium . ou philo sophy, o f renderingthe mo rals o f. the mo st respectable

“men'

suspected,

ahd o f endangering the ir“safety and repo se , than

ind ignati on must and ough t to interfere , justicedemands that be ings so nox ious in thei r nature ,Paar I .

—Vo r.. l. D

34 . ursro rucu. AND ursu a: 17 5?

and so unwo rthy of ex istence, should be ex terr

The volume now befo re us, will sustain in

every respect the reputationwh ich its autho r has

already acquired . M. de Bufl'

onhas found the .

secret o f rendering h i s subject particularly interesting . Tho se who are emulous o f writing well,may take h is Dissertations asmodels, and consider

the autho r as the irmaster and instructor. One may

justly be astonished at reading a treatise of a bun

dred pages writtenfrom the first line to the last

with the same grandeur, the same warmth , the

same truth , and o rnamented th roughoutwith thesame brilliancy o f colouring . Here we are taught

howtu‘

descantwith digni tyuponthe mo stcommonsubjects, and how eve ry thing may be ennobled byawri ter who po ssesses at once clearneas and elemtion. Here we maylearn how to acquire geniusand talent, i f-indeed they are ever to be acquired ,for it is iuth is that the secret of allrules and all

precepts principally consists . Here we may learnto feelthe beauties and defects o f awo rk, to judge

the comparati ve merits o f wri ters.

prefix ed to th ie mlumg is oue of thosc chd ice

mo rsels which cauuot be too much read und re

read. I twould be useless fo r th is reasonto make

,auy extracts from it, butwe shallofi

'

er some obser

vations uponparticulur parts ; flrst making the

generalobservation, that we cannot compliment

1 753 narrows am) m ourns. 36

M'

s d c Bnfl’ou too much uponthe modesty and

justice with which he is carefulto qualify h is reasonings . This e x actness is pe rhaps one of the

mostunequivocalmarks of a greatmind . Never

do es h e give h is reasonings‘

as mo re conclusiVe than

they really are , neve r does h e assume to h imself

to have demonstrated a th ing wh ich he has onlyshewuto be e x tremely pro bable ; h e is very atten

tive to asce rtainthe degree of credulity wh ich he

th inks due to h i s arguments, the e x act weight o f

th e e vidence-he h as brought in suppo rt o f“

them.

I t is true that th is scrupulousness is almost indis

pensable ina philosoph e r wh ose bold genins oftenhaz ards new systems, and invents new hypotheseswh ich cannot-be confounable i o the tastes and ideasof e ve ry body. But h ow manyare the re who with

mo re pride thangenius, and much more obstinacythanimag ination, oflengive us the most absurdreveri es as demonstrations, and are angry if we

dare to enquire into them narrowly. I t i s only a.

true ph ilo sopher, amano fzsnpe rior genius like M.

de ~Bnfl'

on, who - i s capable o f acting with so much .

ingenuousness, and evenguarding us against con

found ing the degrees of credi bility - wh o is abovethe weakne ss of entertaining too great anaffection.

fo r h is ownOpinions, and e x acting the same deference and respect . for them,

'

that priests requi rerevealed

'

truth s.

Anahinial'

, saysiM. de Bofion, has two modesof ex istenee , a state affl i ction, and a state of rev

36 maroatcs r. A ND m ans ar 1 753

other alternately during the whole course of h is

life . Th is contains the whole plano f h is disserta

tion. Such a divisionappears at first sight o rdi

nary, common, whatmight have beensaid by anybody ; butit is one of those truths wh ich the more

simple and luminous they are, the more theybelong to true genius alone ; Every one is tempted

to say, I should have considered the subjectunderthe same po int o f view ; but inreflecting alittle ,and investigating the admi rable system wh ich M.

de Bufl'

onhas established uponthis simple idea, wesee plainly that it is one which could only emanate

from true genius. Sleep wh ich appears to be a

purely passive state , a so rtof death , is onthe con

trary the first state o f th e living animal, and the

very foundationo f life . I t is no t a privati on, an

annihilation, it is a manner of being , amode of

ex istence as real,and mo re gene ralthanany o ther .

By sleep does our ex'

mtence commence ; th e (cams

inthe womb sleeps almost continually, and the

ch ild sleeps much more thanit remains awake . All

that our author says onth i s subject is admirable.

I have long had a great inclinationto write

AnApology‘fbr the Passi ons, and urnplify what

inthe ir favour at the beg inning of‘

his bo ok, M.‘

de Bufi'

onhas.

treated this part‘

of h is subject ex

tremely i ll; they have mo re occasion than ever

fo r anapolog ist. Unluckily he is right inthe ill

that he ascribes to them,- they are the great

source ofallthe unhappiness .ofimankind. Vio

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ms'

ronrcs '

r. awn L'

I TER A RY 1 75 3

to us, this truth would be evenmo re fatal'

thanthe pass ions themselves ; we should be shownhow

we cand isencumberourselves of the pass ions ; weought atleast to be convinced that the Sag e is out

of the reach o f these ills. The portrai twhichM. de

Buti'

ondraws of the wise manis indeed admirable ,

but do e s such amanex ist. Allthat this author

says conce rning ourmisfo rtunes and the deplorablestate of humannature, and wh ich alas ! is but. too

true , would lead us naturally to ask o f h im who

made us,inky hastthoumade as thus ? if we had

no t been strictly interdicted th is questionby St.

Paul. I shallsay thenof the passions whatour

author says of sleep, it i s amode o f exi stence as

essentialto manas reason, o r the unde rstanding,and allthe invectives againstthe passions are nobetter founded thanthe complaints o f them:wh oregretthe th ird, o r the quarter of the ir liveswhichthey are obliged to spend insleep.

Gladly would we analyse very minutely what

our autho r says‘

onlove, but that would carry us

too far.

{

I t is a mo rselno less admi rably writtenthanthe rest. 0 love !why dust thou fo rmthe

happine ss of allo ther be ings and the misery o f

man— I t is, says M. tie Buflbnthat the physi cal

part of th is passionalone is really good, and in

spite o f what enthusiastic votaries mayassert, the

mo rali s anevil.—Well, then, at the risk o f passingibr anenthusiast, I must say, that the mo ralpart

of th is passionis prec isely the most delicious, the

most desirable parto f our ex istence , whatg ives us

m oms urn“m o r es. 39

so much p referenoe o ver other animals. I appeal

to allwho have felt th is delici ous into x icationo f

lo ve . What state canbe compared to that of true

iuefiable happiness inlove i—to that delightful

sympathy o f hearts inwh ich th e ex istence of each

seems confounded With that of the othe r, where

one becomes as itwere a part of the othet, sharingthe same sentiments, the same joys, the same

cares. This delicious state which canonly be felt,and ofwhich wo rds cang ive no idea, is the mo ral

part o flo ve , and is far, very far from vanity. I t

is true that manhas often contrived to carry h is

petty vanities into love as every where else, has

found the secret of po i soning the pleasures of love

as o f every other sentiment. That do es not

however prevent the sentiment be ing good initself,and calculated to render manhappy. There are

privileged souls who enj o y in thi s way the utmo st

delights of love , and o f allother sentiments wi th

out the ir being po i sone d by the li ttle vanities , th e

vices, o r any other o f the scourges o f mankind .

I fM. de Bufim’

s mode of reasoning were good ,itmight eas ily be proved thatnot only the mo ral

part of lo ve i s anevil, butthatthe case is the same

inevery other respectwi th the moralpart o fman’

s

nature , since menwilloftencarry the ir petty vani

ties antl vices, even into the ir most virtuous

actions .

I must farthe r remark that what our autho r

says upon d isgust to life, upon attachment to

inanimate obj ects, uponthe talent o f imitating

40 nrsroatcu. sunminus“

and counterfeiting , uponenthusiasts and roman

em with regard to insects, is incomparable . W ithregard to the latter he asks Wh ich ~i s likely .

to have the mo st sublime ideas o f the Soprano

Be ing , the mhnwh o sees inh im th e Creato r o f

ing th e o rder o f eve ry species o f ex istem ;

only engag ed in conducting a republic o f flies,

and e x ceed ingly o ccupied wi th the manne r in“

.yvh ich a bee tle 's w ing may best be folded i"

- l

should say that bo th may have anequally grand

idea of the Creato r. To such a Be ing it'

cm

have co stno mo re to arrang e the -m ch ine ry o f

the immense Unive rse thanthat o f a little fly;

But th e true d iflerence betweenthe two species o f

ph ilo so phe rs seems to be th is ; that the mind of

the Insectolog ist from being continually occupied

with h is little peo ple is insensibly contracted, ti ll

inthe end he sees no th ing but flies and ants inthe creation; ins o f wh ich he who dares

measure the dimensions o f th e glo be, and contem

plate theUniverse entire , finds h is souleverydaybecome mo re and more elevated tillhe partakes

‘ as

i t were w ith the Creato r, the glory Of 113vcreated .

In o rde r to render thesecute attentionan

1 753 m eans an aw esom e.

those t condescend zto read them, we shall en;

deavour to employ some , as opportunities are pre

sented , intreating of -th e works that come under

our ex amination, in giving a sketch , slight '

it i s

true , but just and exact, o f th e present state of

literature inFrance . We s hallavail ourselves

fo r th is '

porpose o f a seasonwh ich is commonlythe 'most barren'

o f any innew publications, thecourtbe ing atFontainebleau, and allthe principal‘

mhabi tants'

o f -Paris being dispe rsed about at the ir

country seats . Thus th e autho rs and the i rheraldsthe bo oksellers, are inthe habit of resting fo r a

while onthe ir oars that whenthe Carnival recals

every body to the Capitalthey may renew thei r

labour with redoubled ardour, and obtain, the

one -a more ~amfi e po rtion of renown, and the

o th er a more ex tens ive sale fo r their wares . Th is

sketch o f French literature once g iven, willspare

us in tbe '

sequelmany explanations and elucida

tions, thatwe should otherwise be o bliged to g ive

at every . moment, in o rder to make ourselves

understoo d, but wh ich would be superfluous wh en

the gene ral state o f th ings is once known. The

security promi sed to our communications requires

ou-our part the most unbounded frankness, and

the lo ve of truth requires the severestjustice .as an

indispensable duty. No r shallour -friends have

any reason to complain o f th is rigid sincerity.

Criti cism,

‘

wh ich has -no o ther pbject inview but

truth, and wh ich i s no t animated by the repre

hensible desire o f finding that bad wh ich i s really

fits nrs'roarcar. u m a rm “

good, m y be erroneous, and may sometimes m

doe s its autho r to the necessi ty of retracting opi

with inthe last'

few months the Letter fl ow the

Par-Earnest q rovenCe to the King is thc only

one wh ich appears to merit particular atten

tion'

. Th is letter is so much the more forci ble ,~

as

it is writtenwith great moderation, and does no t

make use of any violent expressions . A personof

great d iscernment remarked uponit that inth e

Rm mlrances of the other Parliaments the Jan

senists to ok uponthemto assume the theolog ians ;inth is the Molini sts assumed the mag istrates. It

might have beenadd ed that the latter was done

With allthe prudence allthe moderation, allthe

d ignity that belongs to the most respectable mag istrates ; we see clearly thatthe irs is not afauatic isrn

proceed ing only from petty h eads, it is by the love

o f o rder, by a desi re ofwuph olding the laws that

they are animated . They willonly o bey the King ,they refuse to receive th e law from seditious and

fanatical prie sts. What’ we have laid before

your Majesty,”they say, demeustrataes plainly

thatthe Bullis enfo rced as the rule o f faith and“that those who refuse to subscribe to it, are pursued as h eretics . Allthe acts that have emanatedfi'

om your autho rity condemnboth these princi

pie s and their efiects . I t h ot the utmost in,

pbrtancc that this di versity of principlesM d

(763 m om AND “s e bum .

‘

43

“be put aneud to, either by the abrogati onof

your regulations, which if necessary would be

glorious, or by maintaining them w ith the

utmost fi rmness. I t is certain, sire , that the5‘numerous refusals of the sacraments, occas ion

very heavy complaints ,r—ou th e part of your

Majesty th erefo re either the most marked cen

sure of such refusals o r the mo st decided appro

bationof them is ind ispensably requisi te .

”

The third volume o f th e Encyclopedia has at

length appeale d .

[

AllEurope ‘has beenwitness to

the outcry raised againstth is impo rtantwork, and

by allreasonable people it has beenwitnessed with

the utmost indignation. What man o f common

sense could ind eed see w i th ind ifi rence the

hatred s, the jealousi es, th e cabals raised against it

by persons assuming a false devotion, coveringthe ir bad pass ions with the cloak of religi on.

Canone refrainfrom blush ing fo r humannature

Whenwe see th e relig ion o f the Prince h imself

made use of to serve the ends o f these pauple ;

whenwe see the administrators ready to lend the irass istance to the od ious plots fo rmed by a false

seal, o r perhaps by hypocr'iSy, to inv

'

olve the best

heads, the most enlarged geniuses o f the na

tion in anuqiust and detestable persecution

Unfortunately fo r th e Jesuits i t was“

not so easy

tc had mencapable of continuing the Encyclope

dia, as to ruin a set of philosophe rs who had né

fi ber support inthe world but the ir love of truth

‘

44 nrsno rucar. -m :i .rr z aant 1 75 3

and ~ the consciousness of the purity of their

motives ; poo r resources against tho se who have

the power in th eir hands and who,ex po sed to

false ins inuations, to dmpositi ous, to rocks without

number, have .a th ousand means o f be ing unjust,while a single one only remains of being just.

Allwas well concerted , the papers of M.

Diderot we re se i z ed ; i twas thus that the Jesuits

reckoned uponunmaking anEncycloped iaalreadyconcluded ; itwas thus thatthey hoped to arrogate

to themselves the glo ry of such anundertakingby arrang ing and putting in o rder the articles

whi ch they believed allprepared . But they had

forgottento take away from the ph ilo soph er h is

head and h is genius, and o btain from him the

key to a great many articles wh ich , far fromcommehend ing , they endeavoured invainto de

cypher. Th is humiliationis the only vengeance

o btained by our ph ilo sophers o ver enemies no less

imbecile thano malevolent; it in any case the

humiliation o f enemies so contemptible can be

flattering to ph ilosophe rs. The go vernmentwas

obliged , not without some so rt o f confusion, to

take measures to engage M. Dide rot and M.

d’

Alembert to resume a wo rk vainly attempted

by people who had for a long time beeninthe

lowest ranks o f literature . I say, not without

some so rt of confusion, since the government

made these advances to th e authors to continue

the wo rk, without ,

revoking the decrees issued

against it three months before. ”I t ought not

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46 auroarcar. . A xumm “ 1 75 3

though they may‘hope to equal they canneve r

ex pect to surpass them in subsequent v olumes.

Many articlesw ithwh ich the public seemed diamia

fied in the fo rmer parts are here re-written; of

this number 18 Jur isprudence , a science, says M.

d’

Alemb ert, so very necessary, and unfortunatelyso little understood ; M. Be echer d

’

Arg is charged

h imself. with the revision of this , which h e has

ex ecuted to the satisfactiono f every body. Under

the same descriptionmay be included Ckynu'

stry,

M. Venclthe younger, a physicianand amano f

great talents, and the BaronH‘Holbach charged

themselves . We must also mention severalarti

cles by the£hevalie r ~Jaucourt, as wellupontheabove subjects, as uponp

hysics'

angene ral. N ote

withstanding such anuni onof talents the work i s

pro bably yetfar from perfi ction there may still

be many th ings very defecti ve, many e rro rs maybe found that must be co rrected ; and those who

seek less fo r taste and philo sophy thanfo r quota

tions willabove allhave fine spo rt.~

Butwh enI

say that this undertaking does the-h ighesthonour

to the humanmind , the principalpo int o f v iew

under which ] consider it,:is the philosophi c spi rit

universally spread over it,—the pro found views of

things, the new ideas every where to be metwith .

The Encyclope d iawillbe above allth ings precious

to posterity from th e vm great parttakeninitby‘M.Didero t. This genius, perhaps one ofithe most

1753 47

alvnys m ting , always new ini ts op'

erati ons, h’

as

carri ed into . allthe ph ilo sophi c part,into the arts

and trades, .inwhich he has beenthe principalla

bourer, that illumination, thatprod ig ious lbcund ity;which characte ri ses allh is works. The articles

done -by himare tho se the study of wh ich should

more esmcially be recommended to persons capableo f reflection, and o f pe rce iving inthem the ge rms

o f aninfinity o f ideas Wh ich only want to be de

veloped in o rder to enlightenmankind, and to

carry the arts, sciences, and ph ilo sophy. to thei r

.114 T his-th ird volume is preceded by anadvertise

ment which occupies four leaves . I t i s writtenM y byM.

«d’

Alembert, and with much spirit

strength , and warmth . That~

ph ilos0pher has un:

4mm th e m athematicalpart o f the work ; andunder th is sw am with M . Diderot, the glo ryand we labour M a t uponit. Inh is adver

M anthe name of h imself and hi scolleague Y ouWillfind many things very affecting ,

’

and which ought to render the situationof

menof letters parti cularly interesting and respect:

able to us ; the Jesuits willpro bably not be much

pleasedwith it, any more thanwith the list of

friends callThe Ci ti z enfo r disttncnou, the eloquentl fl l

and atrabilarious adversary of the sciences, hss jnstsetallParis ina flame by'

aLetter w Mum , in

48 w a s !) m m

whi ch -he endeavoursto , prove . that. it is imposs ible

to adaptmimic to French wo rds, that the language

is altogether unadapte d to musicalsounds, that theFrench never have had any nationalmos ic, , and

neve r can have any. I t is s ingular enong‘h i o

see th i s o pinionmaintaine d by a manwho has

himself compo sed a great dealo f music to French

wo rds, and has re cently. brought out Le Devin:43

Villag e , a very pleasing inte rlude , wh ich has hed

the gm mst success, bo th atFontainebleau.and at

Paris . This Letter has not made less no ise -here

thanwas made ayear ago by The Little Prophet ofBoehnnschbroda but This Little Prophet made

every body laugh , and the French canpardonanything onthatground whereas the Citi z enm enus,and o verthrows with mighty strokes o f. the hatchet

allthe altars wh ich had beenraised with so much

respect to the Genius q h Musie .

‘

I t were

much to be w ished that some mancapable .of enter

ing th e lists againstso seductive awriter asM. Rous

seauwould take up the pen inanswer ; ,o r if un

fo rtunately the Ci ti z en is in the right, it were

better thata to talsilence should be o bse rved” Butthe same th ing willhappenagainthat has o ftenhappened already ; petty scribblers willtake the

Th is was pro bably one of those epheme ralproducti ons of

whi ch M. de Grimm makes such frequentmention. It is awo rk

now no longer known; itth e little prophet di d for awhlle flndhonour its his owncountry. that day has long beenM a and

ne ither h imselfno r h is prophecies are any longer th ought of. Ina

future part of the com peti ti ons some allusionhowever is again

1 754 ti trzuoras‘

AND AN'

Ecnor z s . 49

and we shallhave sh owe rs o f wretch ed

pamphlets pouring inuponus from allquarte rs .

«Mi n 6

I t is said that the K ing o f England has‘

de

manded the h ead of the B ish op .o f Montauban.

He was answe red, that the B isho p W ino h ead ;and h is Maje sty inc onsequence has desijsted fromany

"

further deliri'

ands .

t41

Ali'

s? r t January, 1 754.1 "We have justrecei ved fromHollandAnEssay

to“

Charter the Fifth , by M. de Voltaire, 2 vols .

lamo .

'

printed at the Hague . Th is i s anew theft

from the same illustrious autho r, and ' h e w illpro

bably be extremely Ve x ed at i t. In reading the

wo rk no d oubt canbe entertained that it is,from

his“

pen, but‘

it is obvious at th e same time that:

what is'

now g iven is only the first sketch of a

gri nd picture which requires much attention, much

correction, much application, befo re it is finished ,atid ina pro per state to meet th e public eye . But

th ough inits present state it scarcely dese rves th e

nitrite of a wo rk; wh olly unfinish ed as i t is: you}

willfind every Whe re strokes wh ich chafae térizai

the style o f the first and most astornsh ingfiwriterof the nation. R e cons id hrouelogY shnd the

otder o f succe ss iono f kingsas‘

the fgfiiflésifif fi‘hifitorianno tas.

the end to be attained by;his labonm

Paar I .—VOL. I .

so msroaxcar. Alto LI TERARY 1 754

“every whe re ,

”says he , a pro found ignorance

“eveno f the mo st simple and most knownlaws

o f physics : th is i s the true touchstone o f bo okswhich false relig ions pre tend to have be enwrittenby the hand o f the De ity. God canno t be

e ither absurd o r igno rant ; but the vulgar, who

do not see these faults, wo rshi p them, and the

learned employ a to rrent of abuse to pafliate

th em —Our autho r calls the finances the pulse

o f a State, a very fine and very just comparison.

He speaks of the o ri g inof the law, regarded as a

profess ion, and repeats a mistake into which he

has fallen inh is Age qf Louis the Emrteentk, in

saying that the de scendants of persons of the law

are not yet received into the°

chapters inGermany.

He does nothere pay attenti onto the ci rcumstancethat no di stinction is made inGe rmany b etween

the nob ifity of the gownand the : nob ihty of the

swo rd , and that great families may ente r indiscri

minately into bo th professions. Persons o f the

law are no t rece ived into the chapte rs to Germanyi f th ey are rotur iers by b irth , but they are when

the y canpro ve the ir nobility. inFrance the nob-

i

lity'

of the g own is essentially di f erent from the

no bility of the swo rd . M. de Voltai re willno

doubt be reproache d again, as h e has beenalready,onaccount of h isH istor-y tf tke Crusades , with a

secret attachment to the Mahometanreli gion he

certainly says allthat canbe urged in its defence

at the ex pense of Ch ristianity. The wits have

amused themselves with circulating a repo rt that

1 754

the autho r is g o ing to Constantinople to be cir

A seat recently vacated at the Academy bythe death of M. Gro s de Bo z e has been filled b ythe electiono f the Count dc Clem ent, aprince ofthe blo od . M. de Bougainville , secretary to the

Acad emy o f Inscriptions and Belles-Lenten, mentioned befo re as contesting the seatwhenM. de Buf

{onwas elected, a manno less celebrated iuParis

fo r h iscabals and the pe rpetualquarrels inwhich he

is engaged thauo th cr meno f letters are for thtir

literary producti ons, th ought himself onth inotz

casionsure o f his election. So thonght the pablic

too, and were indignantat it. Onthe day of eleea

tion, the vo ices being ready ingeneral to declare

inh is favour, MarshalR ichelieu, seated by the

side o f the PresidentHenault, adred him to whom

he should gi ve his vote i - To M. Bougainvme,said the President- I willlay youaW not.

said the Marsha—The President, astonished that

anbthe r should know better thanhimself to whom

he intended giving h is vote, said to the Marshal,

sisted uponwhat he had advanced, and this singular debate lasted some time , tillM. de Mirah ad,

secretary to the Academy, drew from hi s pocb ta

letter ftom the Count de Clermont, inwhich this

prince returned thanks to the Academy- fdr =the

honour done him inelecting him to the vacant

seat. Although the Academy had never thought

of offering the place to a prince of the blo od‘ roytl,

E a

HISTORI CAL AND' L inu s? 1 1 54

allthe Votes svelte imni ed iate iy united infavour'

of

one who had “pressed h is read iness to -accept in

M. de B ichelienwonhis wage r, andthe publicnpq

pe'

aredmnch better satisfied at se e ing inthe Ace

demy a prince who lo ves literature and th e arts

than-amanwho doesnot seem borne ithe r fo r the

one o r the other.

-We are already atth e second editionof Rons

seau’

s letteruponFrench music . Neve r d id aquar

relintake more no ise , no r ever was one carried on

With g reater eagerness thanthatwhi ch has ari sen

onthis subject and the pamphle t inquestionhas

rev ived it‘

w ith evengreater eagerness thanever.

The re has appeared , and willstillappear, legions

ofiM erwinwhi ch the autho r is attacked with all

sorts ofiabuse , totally fo reignto the question. The

0m m of the o pera has burnt h im inetfigy.

The body which th inks itself compose d of the first

musicians inthe world, and which is only the first

inPattie, because the re is no othe r, as m'hnmour

only -said inaUpamphletdnstflyeargzth is body h as

h omew ood imbecillity. Butwhat rs difi cnlt to h e

believed , yet tsno ttire less perfectly true , is , thatthe autho r was near being ex iled fo r h is o flimces »

I twodld have beensingular enough to have seen00311 1 6q Rousseauthus stigmati z ed ffo r decrying Fraue h mus ie ,afterhaving beensufi

'

et‘ed to treat:

some of the mo st delicate subjects "1 politics inh isownway with impunity ; to have seenthe Citi z enGeneva, the e

'

nemy o f the arts, take h is stick and

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M ntsr oaroa r. m o L I TBRA RY 1 754

the pen indefence o f lette rs and the arts, it

is much to be regre tted that no t one proved h intsself equal to plead ing the cause he had under

takeni o suppo rt. Any one who ventured to enter

the lists against Rousseau, should have thoughtonly o f opposing to his powerfulelo quence, plain,clear, and lo g icalreasoning . Thic was the proper

weaponto employ against so formidable anenemy ;the only one with wh ich he could be oonquered

but unfortunately thi s was the only one no t em~

ployed . I shallonly notice two of the numerous

adversaries to Rousseau, who oame forwards onth is

occasion. Stani slaus, king of Poland, published

some very sensible remarks upon the speech , but

somewhat irrele vant to the subject. M. Bordes'

of the Academy o f Sc iences and Behes Latti ce at

Lyons, printed ADissertationuponthe Advantag esg“the Arts and Sciences, wh ich gained mo re credi t

at Paris, than inmy o pinion, it deserves . I t is

somewhat in the same case with the .Polish king’

s

M arks : it; is foehly written; the thoughts are

feeble. and not applicable to the question. Rons

m a had the advantage too much onkis side to

drawback. He wrote firstananswer to Stanislaus ,

M M to M Bo ttles, wh ieh he says is to be hillast. Both containsome strokes reallysnblime ; the

M mmmy e pinionmqualm aven. snperi or td the

Baha‘i-M inM um'olm under the fifle ofmum sdu

56 m um AND m em oir 1754.

it in e very possible po int o f view:w ith regard to

the corruptionof mo rals imputed to the arts and

sciences, to their influence to promoting virtue and

pig ; in thus treating the subj ectand e very thingrelating to it ina sound and log icalmanner, itappears to me thatthc Citiz enn eneuamighteas ilyhave beenbroughtto his maples ultra. The

of the arts

much evilm the Wo rld ; but howare such abuses to

be prevented? I s i t info rbidd ing manthe use of

everything wh ich maypossi bly be pervermd byhim it

Atthis rate, what .

’

rs there thatmightnot be pro bi

bited” since I know of uo th iug that mayno t beabused , manmust thenbe converted into s hrubs ,

o r even into an inanimate being . Besi des, how

would it be po ss ible to preventmenapplying them

selves to the arts and sciences, that is, acco rding to

ogr ph ilo sophe r, co rzuptiug themselves . We know

m y. well, that th is hangs upona thousand trivialcircumstances, upon a thousand chances that no

humanpower o r prudence canchange o r controul.

I t i s useless therefilre, to argue upona th ing overwhich we really have no .powe r, which may be

called one of the modes o f ex istence o fman. To

prove thatanation-is wrong ingiving admissionto

literature and thearts, is something like attemptingto prove thatamanisj uthe wroug to die .

H

The re is anothermo de of combating th e opiumof M. Rousseau, which is connected with the first,and Which appears to me also perfectlyphi losophic ;it is to show h imthathe '

hasnotpenetrated to the

WM m uons s unauz cnor z s .

’

5?

true sourceo f the unhappiness o fmankind . Read

ing o ve r againthe o th er day the admi rable Dissen

tah'

onuponthe nature g'

Am'

maIs , pre fi x ed by M.

deBufl'

onto the Fourth volume o f h is NaturalHic

toriy , whieh I had the banne r Qf'mentioning at the

inthe fine stuponallfi urs by the side of the he re .

Ona’

sud denavielent stern:came on, wh ich was

m dered ammo re teri-ifié by th e estreme darknew

o f the nights the thunde r rolled, th e lightningfilled the air, at intervals ,

'

with anawfuland me

mentary light. spreading alarm'

and ho rro r overthe

two animals I had placed togeth er. At length;

persed ,5the sunro se , and nature resumed its cus

te rnary beauty“

and tranquillity. I saw my here,

already fo rgetting .th e horro rs e flthe night, occu

storm had spread o ver the earth , and wh ich the sun

thoughtful,m y, totallyun'

mindi'

ulof the present

geed, was“onlyo ccupied with devising

‘

themeans o f

securing himself m future against the h o rrors‘

to

wh ieh he had so m ently beenex po sed. This was

thoughts-to hefldh g houses, and atle'

ngth'

towns,

WM nu ons AND AN 59

it tbm lm sinee it was wellknownto the

ancients. Introdnccd into thi sTheatres, atParis ,

ciplfl.mm mmw and the quieke rn prw

ama

tbgjnm ésuay wszme likely fto ge t, i tmayhawd flwltb. trusty film the Publifl. and e ven

pgtsom We ight 111 the hterary World, 00th

M aths»mama cf ‘W ‘Wifih the wrrtm ,

60 11 1 31 011 1011 L A ND L I TERA RY 1 754

unsuccessfnt,‘ the species o f d ramahas been

eenfdnnded with th e writers, and the faults of

the latter have beenimputed to th e fo rmer .

’ Such

“e very specieéris goo d , sfaysM.

‘

de Vettaife. ex t

eepting th e ennuyewt. Why should the species,

to whi ch the name of Weep ing Comedy h as b een

given, not b e g ood, since th ere are s

'

cenes 111 the

Prqudice 111 Fashion, inMelanie, and manye ther

pieces ve ry affecting , and whfreh prodnce a g reat

effect 111 representation. lf tbat efl’ect be ee rtmn

and ind isputable i h any one o f these seem alone,whatshould preyentwh ole pieces inthe éame srtylebe ing eqn

’

allye o , end i f th ere b e none ; do es not

h is w i iting, and with having'

eonght’to

produces w ry striking contm ts ; 11 13 io fi art, of which the artist makce d he ‘greater brtbeleesnee; accord ing to the j greaterm lfésswftémof h ie genius. M. de LaW W IIw e.

howmo lqy the planwfi a eeasonable wmedygifioflto

his comedies'

very M iwéth h at ing M ed ia

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Ge 11 1111 011101 1. 11 11» m eans 1 754

of the Encyclopedia uponcomedy , is welldone ,but ] th ink he hasno t, by any means, exhausted

the subject. leanconceive a species of coatedy

much mo re trag ic, it:the term may be allowed ;

thanthe Weeping Comedy . Why, for instance,s hould no t a gambler or a profi golkillh

'

unself, at

the end o f the picee , inone o f tho se paro x ysms o f

despair and ph rensy to wh ich such misconductverycommonly leads . Such a comedy; wellconducted,would be mo re innate”. thanthe greater part of

our traged ies, and I am disposed to ttnnk that it

would produce a very striking cfi‘

ect.‘

I t is sometimes suid that ourmasters aud pre

decesso rs have done every th ing,and leftus nothingto do ; thatMoliere has ex hausted every subjectfor comedy, that he has forestalled us ineverything . N oth ing canbe mo re false . I f he have

ro bbed us, the Mctromania of Pironwould say,

lotus, inw r tmmrub posterity.~Tbe talm tof a

comic writer consists loas inthe cho ice of charms

ters, the numbe r of which is limited, thanintheart of seiz ing th em and delineating the ir finest andmo st delicate shadings. The shadings o f charac

M. Saurinhas ex ecuted th is idea inth e drama of Beverly,which is always acted w ith g reatapplause—Frmclz Editor .

Itappears o very s ingular ideato gk e fi ia dn-athe appellttionof a Comedy , e venof aWeep ing . o r. anwe should say, Scum;mentalComedy . The French

_plece , Beverly . is takenfrom the

Engli sh tragedy of the Gamesler. and is indeed called , ina co py

o f it inthe Trm Mor’a handa, W W ‘! sw am

tic fi ag cdynnd th is seems a much moreW WWNot a single feature of comedy is to be looud throughout the

i 754 Hummus w n“mo ons. 63

mm .“infinite . A mani

who should arise at

this moment, with the genius o f Moliere , would

disco ver materials fo r writing as many fleccs, and

pieccs no la c admirable than those of his d ivine

predece ssor, without find ing h imself incommoded

o r fo rcstallod .

Much has beeusaid with rcgard to thc mo ra

lity of theatricalflew ,and many advocates for

the theatre , mo re z ealous thanclesr-sighted, have

fancied that it might be made a great school of

mo rali ty. ltm not dlfi cult fo r theirndversaries

mshew them some very ex ccllent pioccs inwh ich

what is the re mo re commoninoctuollife thiintosee virtue become the victim of crimes. The drama

ought to reprcsent men such -

as they are , with all

the ir passions, the ir virtues, the ir vices, and their

wanderings. I f the picture be wellsketched the

piece i s go od 3 the merit o f such represcntations

is no t to ed i fy, th ey are intended to fo rmthe taste ,

to excite sensibility, to enlighten and instruct

us. The Romans gave th e people bloody shov'

vs of

glad iators to familiariz e them with the horrors of

war ; the s af oul-governmentbeing to softcn

the character of the people , to render them hn~

mane and compassionate, there are no means mo re

ms '

ronmAL AND LITERA RY 1 754

certainforaccomplishing thi s purpose thanto eitcite

the ir sympathyas much as possibleno presentthemwith frequent occasions o f'

shedding tears. Th is‘

i s what I consideras the'principaladvantage resulting from our traged ies. I read, not long ago , th e

p reface wh ich BaronB i elfield , aGerman, has put

atthe head oi’

acollectiono f his comed ies. After

reading that, [must confess that I had no t the

courage to read half a scene of one of h is pieces .

I t is impossible to write more"

nonsensically upon

the subject we'

have just beendh enssing thanhe

does"

. The Abbe de voisenontoo wrote no tmuch

amiss on the sco re of‘

absurdity, uponthe same

subject, inthe preface to a collecti onof his co

medics publi shed lastyear, atPans .

M . de Bongainville i s , at length , elected a'

member o f the French Academy, in the‘

place of ,

M. de LaCh aussée . His ex ample shows that per;

severance and courage inprosecuting intrigues and

cabals, are o ftenmore sure modes of succeed ingultimately, thanperseve rance invi rtue and good

actions .

May, 1754}

Among the literary novelties o f the present:

moment is a Hi stovy of the Peace 97 Managua”,in2 volumes;8vc . The autho r, whose name 1 do

no tknow, published , some time ago , a History qftheTreaty of the Pyrenees, and h e appears to havethe projectof giving us, insuccession, picture s of

37 54 traumas AND ANEono '

res .

allthe treaties which have been, by turns , con

cluded and broken by the d iffs-rent powe rs of

Enrope since the Peace o f Westphalia. Although

this latter treaty was the basis o f allthathave fol

lowed, our autho r has no t judged prope r to writeits h isto ry, not daring ,

to ente r the li sts against the

wo rk o f Fathe rBougeant, wh ich is so much known

and so universally e steemed . The H isto ry g“Ike

Treaty g'

Mmeguen, though long and dry, is no t

w ithout merit; it must be acknowledge d, how

e ver , that its merit d iminish es the more it is ex a

mined, and th e more one cons ide rs the impo rtziitt

que stionof th e true mod e o f studying and writingh istory. Th is is a po int touch ed by our auth o r,inh is preface , where h e endeavours to justify the

planand method o f h is ownundertak ing . But,

instead of solving th e que stion, he complains o f

some journalists who have not spokenfavourablyo f h is Treaty g

’

the Pyremtees . Fo r my part, as

I am less d iflicult thanthey, I willg rant h im, in

the first place that, if the book sells well, and

,contributes to the e ase and comfo rt of the author,tliere ls no g reat harm inhaving compfled itt as

fo r th e rest, I am incline d to th ink that it i s of no

,o ther use but to swellthe nume rous and useless

p onections of those wh o buy books not to read

,th em.

A very fine wo rk migh t certainly be composed,

,ou1the manne r o f

,writing and studying histo ry.

Thi s subje ctthough ithas already be eno ftentreat

70d, name”? .

Stiut.

o be.

cxuetme'y deficient inWPaar l. -VOL . I F

66 m sr oarcar. A N D ur s aaar 1 75 4

light and precision, wh ich true ph iloso phy spreads

over allmatte rs that it investigates deeply. Merely

comparing the ancient h isto rians with the modems,and o bserving the sensi ble d iflbreuce there is be .

tweenthem, oughtto enableus to treat th e questi on

properly, and I propo se here to th row tog ethe r

none o f the principles wh ich , 1nmy opini on, Ought

to be established inthe wo rk suggested . I t is

astonishing that having acknowledged the ancients

as our masters inevery way, and having only suc

ceeded as far as we have followed the ir ste ps, that

i s to say, followed the laws o f nature and of truth ,we haveundertakento write h isto ry inamanne r so

d ifferentfrom the irs . It i s useless to remark that

we have no names to o ppo se to th o se of Livy ,

Thucyd ides , Polybius, Sallust, and mo re especially

Tacitus and Plutarch . Allthe merit o f our mo st

celebrated h isto rians , consists inthe petty talent o fendeavouring to establish Pacts little interesting inthemselves , and the truth o r falshood o f wh ich noone could establish with any certainty, without

having beenaneye-witness o f th em. The ancients

wrote only th e h isto ry o f the ir owntimes, and Of

th eir ownpe ople ; theirs are not the details o f the

acti ons of kings, o f battles, of treaties, and the

like:it is th e hi story o f menand manners that has

engaged the ir pens. A fact is only interesting , as

it serve s to develope characters :aking onlymerits

th e attention of a h isto rian, inasmuch as he is‘

a

h ero and am an. Withoutth ese essentialqualities1kings and

‘

factshaveno rightto aplace iu'

history i t:

1 7 54 uni f orm urnanacnom s.

i s inannals, inalmanacks , that they should be pre

served , as ch ronolog icaldata, to contribute towardsforming materials fo r universalh istory. I f th is

rule be d ictated by reason, whatwillbecome of our

sketch e rs o f po rtraits, of battles , and of treati es,

wh o g ive us de tails o f events, as i f they had passedunder their own eyes. Allthat caninterest, Fo r

e x asnpi e, in the account: of a oatnpaign, i s to

know whethe r the battle was wono rdeal, and whatwere «the consequences of it ; a matte r wh ich is

neve r doubtful. I f i t has beend irected by amanof ve ry supefio r

‘

genius, it meri ts be ing de tailed,but it i s thenno longer the h isto ry of the battle»i t becomes th at o f the man. Wh enthe que stionisthento d isplay the planand conduct of a battle ,i t is fo r tho se wh o we re onthe Spot, for persons o f

the proteasi onto relate what they have seen; or if

the quebtionbe to g ive th e account of anegooiatioa,it is fo r tho se who have assisted inarranging and

putting ino rder th e ch ao s, to reco rd it inthe ir

memo irs . For us, i f we are interested to know the

bottomo f th ings, we mustplay th e part o f judge s,examine th e e v idence g iven by the d imer-cut witneSscs, re concile th e real o r apparent contrafi cv

tions, and b ring forth the truth from ami dstthe

clouds inwh ich it has beenenveloped by the pat

s ierra, by bad faith , by prepossessions , by prejudi ce ,by error, in sh ort, the inseparable companionof

lite r s. it were pe rmiteed to our mab rs ef h is

68 nxsrpnrcar.‘

axn e aaauv 1 754

theywould onlywith stillstronge r reason, be liable

to the imputationo fnotknow ing e ither the manner.

of setting about the details, o r th e method to be

ad opted inpursuing them. The good metho d, and

th ere is only one , is not to make out. o f twelve vq

lumes inwhich the same fact is recorded, a th ire

teenth , but to be occupied with what e ve ry reader

who has a little wmmon sense might be, and .

with what:the personwh o sums up a suit is obliged

to be, viz . with e xamining and comparing the tea

fimonies onwhich each fact is suppo rted , and draw

ing such conclusions as may establish the truth ~

upona solid and permanent basi s. But evensup

po sing this to have beendone with allpo ssible ac t

curacy and penetration, I sh ould no tyet consider.

the personas meriting the ti tle of a h isto rian.

I t willperhaps be said, this is, h owe ve r, at anyrate, better thantreating frivolous subjects ; to sucha reflection, I shallanswer, yes , if youwere con

damned by a lettre-de-cachet to write but there

remains a th ird partto take, wh ich is to be silent.

Why canno t autho rs shew the same kind o f re

spect to the public that every sensible mandoes to .

a circle lnsociety r Whenhe has noth ing to say,

he holds h is tongue and listens to others. At the

presentmomentwhenh isto ry presents us with such.

animmense field, which may be travelled o verwith

great'

advantage , noth ing remains bnt‘

to have re

course to the path o f Chronolog icalAbri dg ements ,

Inth ese convenientand ns'

efirlcompilations may be

arranged a h'

stof those men, and a sketch o f those

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70 nam e le s s AND summer 1 754

nimble . The characte r 05 th is he ro , remarkable initself , i s th ere treated ina manne r truly hold, m y;

o riginal, I might almo st add ,romantic ; allth is

was necessary to g ive a true pi cture of Charles theTwelfth , and; all this willbe amply found intheenchanting peno f h is h istorian. Notw ith standingth is, fo r twenty years past, little minds have never

ceased to na il at th is deh’

gheb'

ulmo rsel. They

could no t compreh end that we Md no occasionEur

them, onfor M. de Voltaire , to info rm us that

Chfl les lostthe hattle of Pultowa, and that inorde r

to pro ve the work rathe r aw ee thanahistorry h

fi v e s not sufi eientto cite some little facts, the ve

rac ity of wh ich mightbe questioned, it was necessary

» to prove that the h isto rianhad not g iwentheessentialshadings of h is he ro

'

s character, o r thathe

had g ivenfalse ones thath e had represented h im,

insh ort, any th ing rather thanwhathe was ; theat ia

fi ct, he had Wholly failed inhi s subject.

Formerly, Louis the Fourteenth, acco rding to

the advice o fM. Colbert, sought out persons of

merit, allover Euro pe , ino rde r to heap his. favours

uponthem. At th e presentmoment, a great kingfinds them out himself, without having recourse to

the eye s o f a Colbert: the king of.PrussiaW

July, 1754.

I”

mustnot omit ofi’ering'

some remarks uponthe

1 754 . Mam as AND answ ers. 7t‘

younger, although it is a subjectwh ich g ives‘

me no

le ss embarrassmeht thanconcern. . Th is autho r hashithe rto enjo yed a ve ry h igh reputation, and has

beenoftencited , I th ink, with reason, as among the

sele ct few who know how to write . B i s pro duc

tions have a‘

characte r o f perfect o rig inality , andbear the impressiono f a genius,li vely, easy, plea»sent, fullof g race, o f attic wit, and po int. He

has also,inmy o pinion, a just claim to the honour

o f having created insome so rt the Species o f no veiinwh ich he ex celle s or i f he be no tabsolutelythccseator of it, no one candeuy h im the credit of

having carri ed it to the utmost perk ctionitseems

capable o f obtaining .

The species, however , requires much apolo gy ;

go od morals fo rm no part o f its character ; fri vo

lity, raillery, lioentiousncss, are its prevailing features . Letus be candid and sincere ; from the ir:

sip id Grig r i to the ex ecrable Gr elot, the lastthingof the kind w ith wh ich we have beenpresenwd ,there it no t one o f this speci es that ought not, fo r

the h onour and glory of the‘nwtion, to be burnt

especially as it i s a species wh ich belongs to theFrench alone . The only pens from whi ch these

kiad of uo vels are atallsnppo rtable, are those o f

the Count de Hamiltonand M. de Crehillou. All

our petty beanw—esprits , who have adopted the

mode w ith so much eagerness, have only convinced

us that they know perfectly wellhow to combine

profound insipi dity with greatlicentiousne ss. Be

tweenthe . cokbrated wri ters abo ve -mentione d, 3 ;

F 4

72 m srontcar. AND Lr'

rnax ar

pleasing and interesting comparisonmightbe drawn.The Count de Hatniltouis almo st always o rig inal

he has a greatdealo f Witand gaie ty , g reatwarmth

o f? style , and great fe rtility, o r pe rhaps I should

rath er say, great e x travagance o f imag ination; hehas moreo ver a talentwh ich I cons ide r as very sin

gular, that of interesting , and even affecting h is

readers inth e mo st e x travagant and impe rtinentfictions. M. Creb illonposse sses th e abo ve talents

perhaps ina less deg ree, but he has one immense

advantage o ver h is pred ece sso r, ina very nice and

happypenci l, inth e inappreciable arto f se iz ing and

ske tch ing the minute traits wh ich mo re particularly

stamp the characte r, and g iving allthe rid icule o f

wh ich it is capable , with a singular truth and ad

dress. I consider h is Sopha as a chef -d’m e in

its kind . Of allth e’

wo rks o f fancy with wh ich Iam acquainted , it i s perhaps the only one that I amneve r tired of reading . Inth isnovel, besides someve ry interesting situations, the conversationbetweenMazuhlim and Z ulica, and afte rwards of Name swho mingles init, appears to mc cue o f thosefi tiemdiscs whi ch has no mo del

,and cannever be copied .

I do notth ink so h ighly o f Tam as as ofLes Egare

mans da Occur etde L’

Espr it, or any other o f the"works o f our autho r ; all, however, hear the stampo f hi s peculiar genius, and have the me rit o f be ingwrittenwith a lightness, a rapid ity o f stile wh ichfew Writers hare ever attained.

After what I have said , itseems inconce iv

able, that the two volumes which have appeared

1 754 narrows AND anemone . 73

under the title o f the Happy Orphans, and wh ich

are to be followed by four more , canbe from the

peno fM . Crebillou. Evenif the very conceptionof th e wo rk were notcommonand trivial

,- if com

monsense we re not revolted at every moment, -if

the situations were not ill-imagined, constrained,and the same perpe tually repeated,

-if there was

a single conversationwellcarried on,— yet the iaconce ivable neglig ence wh ich re igns throughout

the stile o f th is no vel,the amph ibolog ies and sole

cisms with wh ich every page abounds, would besufficient to render the thing absolutely incred ible .

Still, eventhough itwerenotavowed by its auth or,many features of the manner o fM. de Crebillonareto be discernedamidstthesemanifold and striking de

conno isseurs stilld iscover the traces of the penciland hand they have so o ftenadmired .

We have at present inParis a manwho finds

h is ch o icest food inthe shame, the absurd ities, th e

failures o f auth o rs, and who , evenif he were not

furnished with bad wo rks, to tear to piece s ,would

stilldevise th e means o f living by h is libels and

satire s uponthe vo taries of literature . Th irman,

MnFre ron, o fwhomM. de Voltaire says, thathe

is aninsectbred from the corpse o fM.Desfoutaiues,has fallenterribly uponthese Happy Orphans, so

that th ey oughtnow rather to be called Unhappy .

Although tbelgreater part o f h is remarks are no t

unfounde d, yet the manner in which they are

Offered , is f such as to have ex cited the ind ignation

74 ntsronre s r. A ND L I TERA RY 1754

of allreasonable people . There is a manner of

saying every th ing , o f rende ring evenseve re crieti cism not unpalatable to the personcriti cised , be t

the impudent and me rcenary remarks o f our journalists shew a totaldi sregard o f the conside ration

due to mankind in gene ral, and particularly to

tho se who se merits have g iventhem a title to the

publi c esteem, and who se failures have consequentlythe greater claim to firrbearance .

I shallconclude th is article with two remarks

wh ich I think no twholly irrele vant. The first is

that inth is no vel, be s ide s the negligencies o f style,and continualamph ibologics already notice d, and

wh ich must strike every body, there re igns aterrible mono tony inthe language . It might wellbe

supposed to emanate from a foreigne r who was for

the fi rsttime attempting to write French , and was

only acquainted w ith.

two o r three di ffe rent turns,and modes o f arrang ing aperiod , which he employsalte rnately . My second remark isuponthe cho ice

of the subject - why seek itamong fore igner-S IL

Bes ides that a writer rather owes to h is nationthe

prefe rence o f treating tho se domesti c subjects inwh ich it i s mo re

, particularly concerned, there is

th is strong o bj ecti onto laying th e scene ina fo re igncountry — unless th e autho r have li ved fo r a longtime among the -people , and inthe ~ couutryhe takes

uponh imself to describe , he must be gui lty of com

tiuualviolati ons o f co stume -

g he w illmake people

mz uoms AND A N Eone ras. 7 5

wh ich they ne ver had the least idea. I f M. do

Ctehillonhad placed his scene inFrance , he would

have avo ided anumbe r of poo r and trivialremarks

wh ich h e supposes g ive itanEnglish ai r, and wh ich

would have beenmuch mo re inth e i r place inthe

li ttle Comedy ofthe H enchmaninLondon, o r some

other producn'

ono f a similar nature .

We have been favoured with anoth er no vel

translated from the Engli sh , wh ich has not suc

ce eded much better thanM. de Creb illon’

s HamOrphans, though inmy opini onitmerited a more

favourable reception. It is infour volume s, and

is entitled the H i story of Miss B etsy Thw g htless .

Taken alltogeth er, th is no velhas furnished mewith a go od deal of amusement ; but as th e first

volume is the wo rst, it is ve ry possible that manyreaders la ve condemned the wh ole wo rk without

pro ceeding any farthe r. It is undoubtedly very

fer i'

rem be ing limi tless ; many things are to be

found init o f a very bad taste , and th e auth o r has

more talent thangenius ; that is to say, h e knows

better how to observe than'

to paint. But these

dofectsane counterbalanced by two o r three quali

ties t are ve ry fine . Mi ss Betsy is a g irlof

good family ; (fallof vi rtue , o f honour, and o f pro

b itys buttoninattentive mappearances. He r vanityand indi scretionlead he r almostalways into aneglotst o f what would be really for her inte re st,and into erro rs the most opposi te inthe d to

true tastc, by which she is perpetually e xpo sed to

76 HI STOR I CA L A ND L I'

I ERARY 1754

dangers, whence sh e e scapes only by tho se luckychances thatnever o ccur e x cept iu

'

uovels. Everynew adventure co rrects her insome degree , so that

at length after repeated e x perience , and havingbecome th e victifno f her caprice and imprudenceinthe most impo rtautconce rno fhe r life, the ch ri iceo f a husband

, she i s at length entirely co rrected,and a second marriage renders h er as happy as shedese rves to be .

A greattruth and simplicity o fmanners re ignsthroughout th is novel. The characte rs are per

fectly natural, there is noth ing romantic o r e s tra

vagant inthem; they are prec isely the kind ofmen

and womenw ith whom we live, whom we have

always befo re our eyes . There is a great dealof

actionwh ich i s well sustained th rough out, noneof the characters appear insulated , butallhang welltogethe r. Letme e x plainmyself. I meanto say,

thatvery commonly insome o f our bestconstructedno vels, each pe rsonage sustains -very wellthe character assigned h im, but it seems to be one that

doesno th old to any th ing h e seems as ifhe ex istedalone innature . Tmth and probability demand aconcatenation among allthe characters, demand

that every part of the stage should be filled inan

appw priate manner, all be ing linked together,

though some must be placed inmo re consp icuousstations than

'

o the rs. Inthe o rdinary e vents 011

life, the acto rs who play the ir parts' inthem, be

sides the connectionth ey have with such or such

anevent, have commonly many ties with other

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7 8 nrsroarcA L A im ma nne r 1 7“be ing mangled by our Paris translato rs . Butthose

who are a little conve rsantwith the performancesof th is illustrious bo dy,willbe able to judge micrably wellhow far we have reasonto

i

expect anyth ing brilliant o r confo rmable to true taste from

the ir pens.

M . Fentry has jnst translated Memo i rs of theCourt of Augustus, by Doctor Blackwell. This

wo rk, wh ich i s but just publish ed inLondon, is

the fruit o f twenty years labour bestowed onit byth e goo d Doctor, but I hone stly th ink that he

might have found some better means o f d isposingo f h is time . Since we cannot place implicit faith

inthe accounts g ivenus o f the intrigues and cabals

go ing fo rwards inthe presentCourts o f Euro pes ince we have goo d reasonto suppo se that if h ere

and the re we are treated w ith amo rselo f truth , it

i s difii cultto s ift it out from the quantity o f fable

inwh ich it is enveloped s— siuce th is i s pretty ge

nerally allowed to be the state o f the case , I would

fainask our go od English Docto r, whatkind of

arrang ements he was enabled to make, that could

put h im inpo ssess iono f the intrigues carried onin

the Courto fAugustus, o r fromwhatsecretMemo irs

he has ex tracted h is d isco veries ? What anidea, infact, to th ink o fwriting anecdotes of aCourtwh ich .

ex isted two thousand years ago . N o th ing canbe

mo re ex trao rd inary thanthe fancy of writing well

a wo rk, unless it he that o f translating it.Ano ther translationis , the PoliticalEssays of

Mr. Home , intwo volumes 8vo . This writer. is

gm v enom A ND e nem as . 79

already e xtrenwly celebrated inEngland f rom h is

Ph ilo so phicolwo rks, inwhich h e professes sccpticiamwi th aboldness thatfewwould have venture d

upon. Hi s Politi calEssays treat o f Commerce ,Luxury , Money, Public Cred it, 8m. Si c. Nothingcanbe more interesting inthe present state o f got

ve rnments than such to pics. I have only two

objections to make to Mr. Hume ; inthe firstplace

thathe i s to o fond of parado x es , wh ich makes himsometimes runalmost into ab surd ity ; and secondi ythat he is a Jaco bite . I belie ve the English o f

thatparty to be as little patrio tic as tho se wh o are

sold to the Court, and to the interests of the Home

o fHanove r.

Mr. Hume me rited a better translato r thanthe Abbe Leblanc. Any one in read ing h is trans

lationwould much rather take him fo r a Sw iss thana Frenchman; it is totally devo id o f taste o r ph ilosophy , and he shows amo st profound igno rance o fthe snhiccts wh ich form the materials o f the Essays .

He seems to have conceived that a d ictionary was

quite sufficient to make amana translato r, that hehad noth ing to do but to lo ok outeverywo rd inits

regular successi on, and to write h is ownlanguage

inamostuncouth and barbarous manner , inorder

to be a go od inte rpreter of the English languag e .

One is so much the less di sposed to pardonM .

Leblanc fo r having mangled h is autho r inthi s de

plorable manner, as he assumed every where a tone

o f great arrogance and selfo sufliciency e x ceed inglyd isgusting to allreasonable people , and as he has

nm o arakr. AND mu rmur 1 754

prevented our having a translationfrom a man of

g reatme rit and talents wh o was about to prepareone, and who was perfectly capable o f ex ecutingit inaway honourable both to hi self and to h is

original. Indeed if itwaraonly f r e x ample’

s sake

I .would have every such translato r as M. La

blanc condemned to amonth'

s confinement at St.

Laz arus}

I t is time now to‘

disehcumber ourselves o f

th is tribe o f no velwri ters and translato rs . Letus

take breath , and as a remunerationtbr the ennui

they have occas ioned us, advert to the th ird volume

of the Essay onUniversalHi story by M. de Vol

taire ; th i s is published inthe intervaltillhe canventure to avow the two fi rst. Inth e second pageyou w illfind a comparisondrawn between the

commercialpart o f the community and the great,

inwh ich the latte r are represented as resemblingo f ants who grub thei r habitati ons under

ground, wh ile th e vultures and the eagles tear

each o ther to pieces inthe air ; inth is passage youwillrecogniz e immediately the master inthe art ofwriting . Eve ry where you willfind M. de Vol

taire, both inthe idea, the plan, and the stile of

th is volume ;'

lhave‘

only one th ing to allege againstit, wh ich i s ex cess o f prudence and caution; a

faultno t o ften to be imputed to our autho r. As

inthe two preced ing volumes, on the . one hand,our holy mother church was ex tremely ofl

'

ended

The name gi vento theHosp itah forLunaticainc e.

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82 arsroarcu. AND mun“ 1 754

Borg ia even; wh o o f allthe Saints that have goterned the church , me rited the least fo rbearance ,is sketched by a timid and discreet hand , devo id

o f strength and boldness.I cannot help smiling when I hear great eu

comiums lavished ,uponce rtaingo vernments and

the ir institutions, as having beenestablished uponthe mo st solid and sublime principles, as be ing the

result o f the most profound wisdom. There is

only one little d ifliculty inallth is, it is that. h istory

g ives the lie d irectand complete to such magnifid

cent encomiums. I t shows us that the establishment of allthe known empires inthe wo rld has

been sto rmy, and instead of be ing the wo rk o f

wisdom, has beenconstantly the result o f the pasa

sinus of mankind .

Whenthe tragedy o f Herod and Marianne ,by M. de Voltaire , was first brought out, 'the

character o f Varus was performed by anactor

who was very ugly . His confident says to h im:

Fbr God’

s sake let him chang e it.

’cried awit from

the pi t. Such a sarcasm was enough to have

damned ano rd inary piece .

M. Coch in, the younger, and M. Bellicard

have justpublished a pamphlet o f a hundred pagesinlflmo . under the title o f Observations w an

Antiquities of Herculaneum. This wo rk is di

1 76i muons AND n eonate s.

vi ded intd three sections. The the is by M . Bellicard, an arch itect, and contains a de scriptiono f

the principalantiquities h itherto takenfrom th is

newly-d isco vered subte rraneantown; it is preced e dby anaccount o f the present state o f MountVe

suvius . The second section i s by M. Coch in,draugh tsmanto the King , keepe r o f His Maje sty

’

s

collectionof drawings, and s member o f th e Aca

demy o f Painting and Sculpture ; it contains a

disse rtationonth e wo rks o f painting and sculpture

found among these ruins. The th ird se ctioniacludes an account o f some antiquities scatte red

o ver the environs o f Naples, Puz zuoli, Ba’

r’

a, Cu

mes , Capua, 8m. & c. : th is is also,byM. Bellicard .

Ananonymous Write r, a man o f le tte rs, h as pre

fix ed to the pamphlet, H isto r icalR esearches upon

the anci ent townof Herculanmnt.

M.Coch inand M. Bellicard took the ir j ourney into Italy, by o rder o f the K ing , and we re

accompani ed bv M. Vand ieres, bro the r to Madame

de Pompadour, d irecto r generalo f build ings, gardens

,arts , academics, and manufactures to h is

Majesty, and to h im the wo rk is ded icated . The

h isto ricalaccount o f the townof Herculaneum is

dry and uninteresting , and the two dissertationsby M. Bellicard have no other me rit thanthato i

accuracy inth e descr iptions : but the sectionbyM. Coch in, is h ighly de se rving of the public attention. Th e paintings h itherto found, are no t cal

culated to g ive us a great idea o f the attainmentsof the ancients in this art. MfCo ch inpasses h is

G 2

ms'

roaroar. AND L I TERARY 1 754

judgmentuponthem with p erfect equity, d ivestedo f any prejud ice . They are fo r the most part

badly drawn and shew little knowledge o f the

fo rms and de tails o f nature , w ith a to taligno ranceo f the rules o f pe rspective ; they are little finish ed,and are ex ecuted very much inthe stile of our

scene ry for the stage ; the manner is grand, and

th e touch easy, but they d isplay mo re boldnessthanknowledge . Th is mediocrity inth e paintingsi s so much the mo re e x trao rd inary, as the sculp

tures are fo r the most part e x tremely fine ; an

equestrian statue o f Balbus is represented by M.

Co ch inas o f the h ighest beauty .

I t should appear as if th is contrast betweenthe paintings and the sculptures, disco vered inthese

ruins, was merely the effect o f chance ; no general

infe rences, at least, can be drawnfrom it against

the skill o f the ancients in painting . We must

have much mo re light, much mo re knowledge bf

th e subject, many mo re p ictures, many mo re h isto rical facts with regard to the ir d iffe rent ages,

the ir different manne rs, much more ce rtainty, in

sho rt,than we ever can have respecting these

matters, befo re we canbe autho rised to make ia

ductions derogato ry to our masters, and e stablish

prejud ices unfavo rable to their genius. Onth e

contrary, the admiration with wh ich they have

spokeno f the ir painte rs insome o f the ir writing:

should seem to carry with it the strongest assurance

that theymust have po ssessed many very e x cellent

pictures. Allthat they say o f the ir sculptures i s

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86 nrsroareu. urn L im a“ 1 754

a Di derot, a d’

Alembe rt, a Duclo s , has also pro

duCed a Che vrier, a Fretou, a Lamorliere , and

the works o f the latter may ve ry po ssibly descendto po ste rity as wellas the wo rks o f the o thers or

evenpreferably to the o the rs, since it i s no t tastebut chance that prese rves them. The bad writershave always th is chance o f descend ing to poste

rity abo ve th e good ones, that they are commonlyby far the most fe rtile in p roductions ; M. de

Chevrie r would write ten volume s wh ile M. de

B ufi’

ouwas writing one , and would th erefore have

tenchance s to one iuhi sfavouragainstM . de Bufi m.

T,wo observations may however be mad e upon

the pictures of He rculaueum wh ich appear well

founde d. In the first; place , that the ancients,acco rd ing to allappearance , had no ve ry just ideaof the the o ry o f perspective, o r the p ractice o f its

rules ; fo r bad authors, and bad .artists, always

imitate , and endeavour as much as po ss ible to

co py th e goo d. I f thencorrect ideas o f perspec

tive had beenfully established, we should have

seen ind ications o f them,eveninthe very wo rst

pi ctures. I t appears to me that the principalme rit o f the ancient pictures was sublimity o f

ex pression; that inth is the whole genius o f thei r

painterswas e x erted . WhenHo race saysutp ictura,

poesis the painteJ saysutpoeris pictura. My second

obse rvation is d rawn from the grand and boldmanne rwh ich seems inse parable from allthe wo rks

of the ancients . I t is thatg reatme ri gi ve insensio

bly a tone of grandeur in eve ry th ing to the ir

1 754 narrows AND summons. 87

nationand to the ir age; evento tho se works wh ichleastadmit o f a display of taste and genius, and

thatthis is stillretained to a certaindegi'a swhen

the nation itself is falling into degene racy . The

free and republicanfo rm o f th e ancient go ve rnments could scarcely failto inspire and perpetuatethat boldness and invaluable taste for the fine andthe g reat wh ich characte rises every th ing inantiquity and wh ich w illalways g ive allthe ir wo rksanimmense advantage o ver tho se of the modernstA manwho should unite g reat talcumwith great

‘

penetrationand d isce rnment, and should be en

dowed at the same time with an ex quis ite and

refined taste, might eas ily write the , h isto ry o f the

.arts and literature of any age , by the bad wo rk:

alone wh ich sh ould remain to us . Th e species

and tone o f the bad that prevails would lead h imto guess whatmusthave beenthe character

'

o f the

works of ex cellence, and wh ich kind of beautywas

'

the mostlikely to have predominated .

There is no sightmo re agreeable to the sage

or the ph ilo so phe r than that of a great, o r an

ex traord inary man. Our own ex istence seems

ennobled in contemplating the vi rtues o f afellow

cresture ;—the lustre o f g reat actions seems to

prevent our falling into that so rt o f apathy wh ich

is the most deplo rable o f allstates to_a reflecting

be ing , but wh ich canwith d ifli culty be avo ided

amidst the chag rius, th e disgusts, the contrarieties

msgromcar. AND m z aaav 1 754

so abundant inhumanlife . Those who by dutyo r inclination are o ccup ied w ith promoting the

public happiness, ought to have noth ing so much

at h eart as to ci rculate -the glo ry of great men,to give publicity to g reat actions , since there

is no th ing so likely to promo te th ose qualiti esinmankind .wh ich are the mo st advantageous

to so cie ty. The contemplation o f such actionsfills the h eart with

.

a glow o f satisfactionwh ich if it be no t in itself po sitive happiness,at least supplies

'

the place of it in the mo st

so o th ing manner ; wh ile a stillgreate r advantageis derived from the fo rce o f ex ample, from the

soulbe ing th ereby e x ci ted by the purest feelings,unmix ed w ith selfishness o r arrogance, to imitate ,the illustrious mo dels it so much admires . Th e

more rare are the o ccasions o f . th is .kind , . and

truly great men are no t to be seen e ve ry day,besides wh ich realv i rtue is of a retiring natureand o ftenseeks to h ide itself from the o bservationo f th e wo rld , —the mo re this is the case the mo re

ass iduous ought we to be inendeavouring to find

out such instances and hold them up to general

admiration.

These reflections have beensuggested by . the

d isgrace o f th e Marquis de la Ensenada, ‘

wh ichhas beenfor some days the principaltepic of con

versati onatParis . The th irst o f no velty whi ch

prevails he re no less thanit d id fo rme rly atAthens,

places g reat eventsuponthe scene fo rone moment

to consignthem .the ne x t, »ro eternaloblivion. Bur.

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90 nrsruatcs r. an!) a ren a? 1 754

h imself. Whata splend id epoch to a greatmani s

that of h is d isgrace l— Raised above the sto rm by

his firmness and equani tnity, he beholds unshakenthe vain efl

'

o rts o f the cabal that has conspired

against h im, wh ile pusillanimity trembles at the

remo test idea o f a reve rse . The Spanish ministe r,without birth , w ithout fortune, guided by h is na

tiVe genius alone, had passed successively th rough

various po sts, and at length guided th e helm of

ad'

airs d isg raced, he resumed instantly h is primitive state, nor would e vencarry a se rvant to share

itwith h im, because befo re he was inplace he washi s ownservant. Onthe day following h is d is

grace , be ing arrived at the place wh e re he was to

remainfo r the night, he passed the evening w iththe minister o f th e village , talking ove r indiffe rentsubjects ,

and know ing that th i s go od man was

fond o f amus ing h imself with a certaingame at

cards, much ino fash ion in Spain, he played withh im fo r some time with th e utmo stpo ssible attentionand compo sure .

The public papers have talked much o f an

ed ict published by M. de la Ensenada against themonks, whi ch contributed e x ceed ingly to bring onh is disg race ; the y oughtto have prese rved carefullyth is monument of the Spanish minister

’

s glo ry. Iw illtranscribe it here, such as i twas g ivento meby amanof talents wh o translated it . inhaste fo r

the bene fit o f the so ciety inwh ich he lives . So ve

reigns who are anx ious to perfo rm the ir duty, and

53898 who examine and pass judgmentuponthei r.

1 75 4 unuo ras'

A ND “s enor-as .

conduct, ought to be equally struck with the wis

dom of th is e dict; they alone know th e difficultyof framing laws adapted to supply ing the wants ofmankind , and co rre cting th e i r vice s , and the con

sequentme rit of tho se who frame go o d ones .

‘

But

now to g ive youthat ini

question

The piety o f the K ing having considered theflagrant abuses and diso rder that arise from ad.

mittiug so great a -number of individuals into thediflhnent relig ious orders , wh ich only occasi ons

contempt fo r these holy institutions, his greatnesso f mind has b eenso much penetrated wi th it, that

he wishes to find the most gentle and des irablemeans of remedying the abuse, to the end that

these different orders, wh ich are cons ide red as th e

pfllars o f the church , may b e suppo rted inthe i rutmo st pe rfection, and that they may not be the

continual objects of the satires and complaints

wh ich tat-present they draw uponthemselves ; thatcm the contrary they may be ansa mple and mo

delto the faithful, that they may e x c ite the ir emu

lation, making v irtue flourish and e x tirpating vice ,for the greater honour and glo ry o f God .

For these causes h isMajesty,with the consent

o f the HolyApo stolic See , o rde rs that, for the termo f tenyears , no ind ividualshallbe rece ived intothe d ifl

'

erent relig ious o rders, unde r any pretence

whateve r ; at the e x pi rationo f th is te rm representa

tions shallbe made to h is Majesty , from the dif

fewntpro vinces, of the ind ispensable necessity theymay have fo r additionalmembe rs inthese societies,

ans-roams ] , AND urnaaav 1 754

and o f the numbers actually ex isting ineach con~

vent, that pe rmissionmay be g iven fo r admittingsuch addi tionalnumbe rs as may be thought ex

ped ient.

Ex perience having proved that the numbe ro f pe rsons who have takenthe ir religi ous vows at

too early anage has beenthe o ccasiono f numerousapo stasies , , these young pe rsons not having beenable to subdue the ir passions so as to confo rm

themselves to the duties o f such holy institutionsfor these causes h is Majesty wills and o rdains thatno one shallbe admitted befo re the age of twentye ightyears, under paino f the delinquent

’

s incur

ring the utmo st rigours o f h is ind ignation.

That, conside ring the too greatwealth po s

sessed by some o f the relig ious o rders, and . the

po verty o f o the rs, h is Majesty has resolved , and

w ills, that to each so c iety shallbe g ranted annuallysuch a po rtionas shallbe necessary to support it

w ith decency, w ith out d iminishing the means o f

celebrating d ivine wo rsh ip with allpro pe r splen

d our and solemnity ; the allowance to be regulatedacco rd ing to the numbe r of brethrenin

‘

each con

vent, so that they maylive peaceablv to gether andnotmolest the subjects of hisMajesty, who by th ismeans shallbe so othed and comfo rted.

“His Majesty be ing info rmed that a great

many wills and co dicils have beenmade infavouro f relig ious o rd e rs, to the prejud ice o f the lawful.

h e irs, and having beenfarthe r info rmed that the se

bequests have beenmade at the earnestand pressing

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94 msromcs r. mu) mu rmur 1 75 4

wh ich would seem to flow naturally from the

spi rit and principles o f the constitutionof each

state, and wh ich would. do so actually, ifmen, bybe ing wise ,merited to be happy.

Wh ile we are waiting fo r a translation o f

Mr. Hume ’sEssays somewhatmo re readable than

that already mentioned, with which the Abbe Le

blanc has favoured us, itwillno t, perhaps, be un

acceptable to make some o bservations with respectto a manwho now enjoys so h igh a reputationin

his owncountry. Notwithstand ing the éclathe has

acquired in England, and the attentionwhich he

already beg ins to ex cite inFrance ; he does no t

appear to me a man o f first-rate talents . His

style, ss far as a fo re igner may be permitted to

decide uponit, appears flat, i t is only by the 1mpo rtance o f h is subjects that he is rend e red suppo r

table . I am dece ived , o r his countrymenwillre

probate h is de cided taste fo r the French wh ile th elatter willno t feel~ very much flattered by h is preference , because he do es no t take a view o f them

onthei

side wh ich exhibits th em in the most esti

mable light."

From what he says, the just infereuce i s, that politeness is the first o f v irtues, and

that the mano f polished manners is superio r toallothers. But

, w ith all th is , e . Hume has

such confined ideas with regard to politeness thathe confounds it almo st entirely with French manners ; acco rding to his ideas, the Cicero s, the

~Sc ipios, and allthe Romans musthave beenmere

1 754 .unroras AND Anecnor es .

rusti cs. See, onth is subject, one o f his Essays,inwhich there are , howeve r, many th ings quitenew and very happy .

On the two days following the Festival ofSt. Martin, the Royal Academy of Inscriptions,and the RoyalAcademy of Scirmces h eld each a

public sitting acco rd ing to custom. These meetingsare ded icated to pronouncing the eulog iums o f deceased Academicians, and to read ingMemo i rs uponsubjects wh ich are very seldom amusing , and not

often ve ry instructive . Ennui commonly presides at them

‘

; one is almo st tempted to say,

'

that

the secretary of the Academy, who pronounces theeulog iums, seems as if he we re read ing fo r h ire ;it '

only occas ionally h appens that some inte restingMemo irmuses the aud ito r from the lethargy intowh ich he is frequently thrown. I shallno t, th erefirre , detainyou long on this subject, lest the

subtile and powerfulde ity o f. Emm i should e x tendhi s influence to my pages . The Memo ir o f the

Count de Caylus , read at the Academy o f Inscripn

tions. wh ich interested and ente rtained th e publicvery much at th e me eting , appears the only th ingthatmeri ts to be he re particularly noticed .

However valuable the di sco very of paintingino ilmay be , one canno t but acknowledge that

the re is some th ing ve ry d isag reeable in'

the glare

wh ich th is fluid throws over the picture ; at the

same thus it i s agreed onallhands thatwater-co

96 are-route“. sunur sm v 1 754

lours are unwo rthy the hand‘

o f a great painter .

These two manners we re unknownto the antients,and the common opinion is, that the ir mo de of

painting was mo re inth e nature o f our enamel.

There is a passage inPliny wh ich info rms us very

clearly, that the ancients painted with wax . Th is

secret has long fix ed the attentiono f th e Count deCaylus, and has beenthe subjecto f h ismed itations

and e x pe riments. After many essays, he has suc

ceeded in substituting wax fo r o il, and it is th is

success wh ich occasions the memo ir inquestion.

But itwas no t suffi cient to announce such a discovery , it was necessary to g ive us specimens o f it,and he ex h ibited a picture painted ll] wax , con

fo rmablyw ith h is ideas . Th is picture was fromthe hands o f M. Vien, ayoung artist, who lastyear

returned from h is travels inI taly, and ex h ibited two

o r th ree h istoricalpicture s at the Louvre , wh ich

gave the h igh est ideas o f h is talents. I t is much

to be hoped thathe w illcarefully cherish thatg randstyle o f colouring , that line taste of p icturesquecompo sitionwh ich he has broughtwith h im fromthe country o f the arts, and no t ,

be inthe case of

so many o f our painters, who intwo o r th ree yearsafter the ir returnfromRome , have to tally forg ottenall they acquired there , and ado pted alittlenesso f stile and a false manne r o f colouring , insuqrpo rtable evento the least d elicate eyes.

The picture e x ecuted by M Vien, acco rding tothe ideas o fM. de Caylus, represents a bust o fMinerva with her casque uponher head . I t I S painted

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98 nrm arca'

r. an!) utens il! i754

admitof the colours inco rpo rating themselves With

it, and th is circumstance must be very embarrass

ing , and evend isagreeable . Now, noth ing is more

dangerous thanto embarrass the artist by processes

that are diflicult and troublesome . His genius is

commonly damped, and that admi rable boldness,so ne cessary to th e ex ecutionof fine and ‘

graud

th ings, is lo st inthe m ad o f any th ing trouble

some and vex atious inthe preparati on.

The Abbe Terrassonhas left a posthumw s

wo rk in turn very th involumes octavb , entitled

Philosophy applicable to every thug thati s an06

jectqf the mind , and qf reason. This poth ponstitibWas probablynot cho senby the Abbe himself,Whowas a ph ilo sopher, simple, uuafi

’ected, no taddicted

to petty vanities of anykind , and totally unprwtised in th e ni cks o f autho rsh ip. I sayth e tricksbf authorsh ip, for one is exceedingly surpri sed,after so magnificentatitle , to see two little volumes,the th ird part of which is occupi ed by a preface

fromth e editor, and the eulogiums pronounced‘

onthe Abbe Te rre sonby M . d

’

Alembert, and M . Ge

Moucri i'

, three years ago .

Our Abbe was amanof considerable talents,of great simplicity o fmanners, and singularnaivéte

’

.

He had no t a very Comprehensive faith, and i

should conjecture that h is thoughts have been

garbled invarious ways . He d ied without receiv

ing the last sacraments, and with a tranquillitywhich may be believed the mo re sincere from lts

1 75-1 fi lm sun" w as . 99

as: being ostentatiensly displayed. He said m y“ posedly, that he had no objectionto the“eranew , aud whenli e was asked wh eiherrhe behaved

ah athan’

d i e ' holy catholic and Romanchurch

teaches, he aansm d ia'

the ssme esmpesed mam

m g thati he fennd that imposs ible . When th e

Confesso r cani e te confess hirm he m e, I am into e wealqe fl atertoaspeak, he

‘so g

‘ood as to qnestimn

feaso rfifhowevery began io‘

k

que'stionh im 9 “.Have

enquiredsthe s icktmsam ‘5 A.little, Sir,”fanswercd

the fhou'

sekeeperfl‘t A Iittle

s5h )

?repeated

? the

Abbéd o n. N . h h u a 1 r. .u J‘f 1 5h “.

efiMi d fialcnuetsc h icks e ademylafi flam ipti onsa

M um '

e x trae rdfiinatyimah vdni tesfltbgWiwex tensive

-

{M omaheaneste refipéctah i e ande estis

HI STORICAL AND LITERA R Y 1 754

He m 'a go od geometriciau, and had the cou'

rage

to -take the part of Si r I saaciN ewton, at the time

when'

almost allthe Academy o f Scimces were still

Cartesians. He was no t so much o f a bel-eaprit

as a ph ilo so phe r, and‘

not'

o f equal autho rity in

In the famous quarrelof the antients vm us tbe

modems, he declared fo r the ietter, usiug a great

dealofifi h e m oniug uponthe oecasiongwith some

appearance of justioe, butwithout any taste. He

his romance o fSethos, which, thongh cold aud ofteu

written ina very bad taste, holds rather a high

piaee inthe opinious of those who eauoverlo ok

these minor defects infavour o f a wo rk wh ichmalice themameuds by being pe rfectly ph ilosoph ic,

denbie ueatuess of turu.

The Abbe Termsson’s posthumous wo rk may be

judged ina fewwords. Almost every thing rela

ting to philosopby is go od, almo stevery th iug that

relates to the belles-lettres is devo id o f -

common

sense .-With regard

'

to the theology, the though tsca this subject seem to be added by some other

haud, o r at ieast, theymust have beenwrittenbythe Abbé whenvery youug , pe rhaps while he was

a studeut at L’

Oratoire .

~ Every oue who knew

h im iu the mo re advanced years of his-life, wili

know that h is ideas were thenvery‘

d ifi’ereut. To

see

'

bow fi r the fury of sp M s canlead the most

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toe arm res t AND ureuar 1 754

W it, M. de LaMo tto , and our Abbe; have

played whatmay be called rather paltry characters ;th is ridiculous quarrel, I say, is somewhat inthecase of many others that have beensimilarly Cir

Bllmstanced, it may be decided inhalf a doz en

lines . Who candoubt that, with respectto those

sciences whiohd epend uponthe exactne ss o f obserrati ons made during along succe ss iono f ages, upondi scoveries wh ich chance has gradually brought tolight; We have g reatly the ad vantage of the anfientt. But he who iraag iues thatwe are superio rto them onthe sco re o f genius, and allthat de

p ends onthe elasticity o f the mindalone , musthavea very shallow head. incapable of fot

‘

rning a tole

subject, and might have z

been e very op witho otdo ing honourto any.

Woe tah im who canstillmake it a questionwhethe r Homer be sublime, w he ther Virgilbe beautiful!i t is a anger of a hundred to one , thatbe

w ould not have any mo re feeling fo r the heauties.otCam ille, o fRacine and o fVoltaire . His gross

‘and insensihle o rgans are not inastate to rece ive

those lively and delicate impressions wh ich consti

late the sublime and the beautifulinthe ideas ofthosewho aremore happily organiz ed ; such shallow

heads are M d with every thing wh ich is not

e x actly confo rmable to the customs of the ir ownagei nd the ir owncountry.

I to! certainthat by having one instance alone

g ivenme of the judgmeutpassed byamso, I could

m inty poio tont his ideqs uponavastuumber of

O

1 7515 narrates AND macno 'ras . 103

o ther subjects . If, fo r instance , I were told thati

such amone was a great admirer o f Homer, I would

lay “a considerable wag er that he was anenthusiastfo r Raphaeland MichaelAngelo , fo rPe rgoles i, fo rMoliere, 8m. Ste . Equally certainshould I feelthatthe same manwho had no taste fo rHomer would

conside r Bouch et as superio r to Raphael,of M . de Fontenelle superio r to that o fMfan, and th e Abbé Trabieta finerwriter thanMohtaigne . I t would not be difficult, as yousee

,to

compo se as large a volume o f detachedthe .Abbé Terrasson8, if we would

sciences with a little attention,selves to the crowd o f ideas that press upon

mind whenit th inks o f th ese matters.

January,

Fo r some months a rumour has beenm

M m tkwnrbjm more d im-mumm .

m s'

ro atcu. AND m anne r 1 765

pro foundly the realadvantages and disadvantageso f a language , so much judgment is requisite , so

greata delicacy o f car, so much refinementof taste ,such metaphysicalni ce ty and d iscrimination, thatnone but a head truly ph ilo 80ph ic and very h appilyo rganiz ed, canhope to succeed inthe task. Fo olswho neve r conce ive i t po ssible fo r any th ing to be

to o arduous fo r them, are as little capable o f be ingastonished at any thing As there fo re the meritso f the Letter uponthe Deaf and Dumb are , fo r in

"

st‘

ance,far abo ve the ir dulland gro ss comprehen

s ions ; they will, on the o th e r hand, admire e x

ceedingly the mo st insipid Wo rks imag inable , prov ided the autho r has knownhow to th row a littlevarni sh over them that daz zles the eye . Thusthe foolo f the greatwo rld lavishe—s uponth e foolof

the literarywo rld , the mostex travagantencomiums :

0h, howfine Mari e l—What a sublime thought

”hat anex cellent view to take gf the myselfflVtatstroke as indeed inimitable l— Similar e x clama

tions are , it is tw o, sometimes d rawnfrom th e lips

o f the discerning and the enlightene d, from th ose

sUprerior minds who alone know how to give theminatonesuited to the ir impo rtance, because theynever bestow them butuponthe e ffo rts o f true genius ,because they are always the effect o f very powerfulimpressions .

Y e t it is th is parto f the public, little numerousas they are , th atwe ought to be emulous to please ;

its decisions, uninfluenoed by prejud ice or infierest,are alone alwaysjnst ; its decrees, founded onreason

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106 HtS‘

BOBICAL u p urm ar 1766

tilyw ithout do ing much injury to their owncause .‘

The ir name has a very great influence wi th menof

modestmerit, who , distrusting the ir ownjudgment,dare notdoubtthe decisions ofone whose reputationis fully establishe d . Y et. since sooner or later the

truth musths disco vered,for truthalways willprevailinthe end, they areconcerned and mortified to findthe respect“ they had conce ived for the talentt aud

productions of the autho r, involuntarily diminid led.

lnth is case has the AbbeProvostsometi rna

placed h imself, and insuch a pred icamentdoes hestand atthe presentmoment. Bo rnwith greatta.

tents, to wh ich we are indebted fpr se veralworks

replete with beauties, master o f the art of af

fas ting and ag itating the soulat h is pleasure, n}ways easy, natural, and no ble inhi s stile . the fatherof so many ch ildrenwhose destinies have beenbrilliant, among wh ich may he particulari z ed, Clareland , Memo irs of aMaa Quality , The DeantfColeraine , and ManonPM “; he has occas ion,ally unde rtakenwo rks wh ich would no doubt havebeenwell ex ecuted if he would have g ivenhixmelf

the trouble necessary for it, since with his powerswe may almost saythatamancando whateve r hewill. It has happened, howe ver, that he has no ttakenanypains because theywe re, i f I may say so ,

beneath h is pen; the genius which ts fertile inin

I have somewhere th rowntogethersomeWMtionsuponthe-Frenchlaw ,whish 1M t

1705 sinuous AND“canons . 107

to be established as a basi s,“one would drawapnmild betweenthat and the other languag es ofEu

rope. Butthe firstlaw, and the mo stind ispensable

ofallis, never to confound the genius o f the lan

singe With its mechanism, with th e turnit takenunder the peno f amano f genius, and o f tho se in

generalby whom it i s written. I f these th ings beno td istingui shed, any one who treats this subjectwillbe snre to make a tissue o f reflections, each

more absurd than the other The AbbeProvo st

has prefix ed to the JournalEtrang er , o fwh ich‘

he

has undertakento be the Edito r, anIntroductionto the Histo ricalDepartment, inwhich he treats.o f I talianliterature, and the I talianlanguage, confounding

-ate very instantwhatbelongs to the latterwith what has no connectionex ceptw ith the fo rmer. A i

tal-esprit remarked uponth is dissertation,1 hat it was ex tremely wellwritten, like every th ingfrom th e hands of the AbbePrevost, it had only.one defect, that there Was notaword o f truth in

allthat the author advanced . We shallhere no

tice some o fh is greatestmistakes ; some that have

encited the utmost indignation inseve ralI talians

who are here at present.

The Abbe beg ins by pronouncing ahigh eulo

gium-outhe Italianlanguage , to wh ich he assigns

much delicacy, sweetness and harmony, a charm

whi ch delights , and rende rs it particularly adaptedto po etry and music. After thus politely grantingit. the qualities that it has the m ost incontestably ,

hem “ to say, that it cannot have so much

ursro arcu. sunw sm r

softness and swee tness without be ing wanting on

the side o f fo rce and energy . Th is may appear

reasonable inth eo ry, if the contrarycould not be

demonstrated by the fact, as we shallshew .

“No

language ,”

says he, is mo re remo te from the

sublime , le ss adapted to th e e xpressi on o f the

grander emo tions o f the soul. Th e d irect con

trary o f th is pro po sition i s the realtruth, and in

fact the whole o f the disse rtationmustbe read , cou

side ring it inthe same po int, that the reverse o f

almost every pro pos iti on is the fact. Should we

no t be tempted to say that one who could make

such ano bservation,ne ve r canhave lo oked into the

works ofany o fthe great Italianpo ets . Openapage

ofT asso , o fArio sto ,o reveno fMetastasi o ,hychance,and youwillscarcely failo f finding strokes power

ful’

,ene rgetic, sublime , such as canno t failat the

same time to inspi re us wi th awarm adm irationof

the po et, and impress us with a strong feeling o f the

happygenius o f s language wh ich cane x press everyth ing with a simplic ity, a grace , a strength to wh ich

no o therliving language canapproach . ltisgenerallyconce ived here , that the ai rs wh ich terminate the

scene softheOperas inItaly,arsonlycouple ts o rlittlemadrigals writtento g ive the musiciananoppat

tunity o f d isplaying his talents. Thus it i s that

igno rance decides , e ver speaking with confidence

uponall subjects without reflecting onany. But

onthe sligh test investigation, it will be seenthat

the principalairs o f anOperaare almost alldevo ted

to the e x pression o f some grand emotion o f the

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no num rcu A ND mm 1 756

thesnfl

'

erer,“it is not l tlintspe

ak,.

it is crnel

this lnngnage it may indeed be said with trnth ,tbat if it must be allowed perfectly expressi ve in

every thing thatrelates to tute and to h igh polish ,itmnstalso be owned that it is very far fmm the

sublime . The LetHim Die o f old Horatias is wbs

lime iu'alllanguages, because the beauty of the

words does not depend upon the language, bfl

uponthe poet alone. The sublime of the ltaliabs

frequently csnnot be translated, because it belongsto the charms of the language alone, wh ieh gives a

graee nnknownto the other languages o f Europe.

But I am dwelling too long upona th ing wh ich

may be verified at any moment, by openiug any

goo d or evenmiddling Italianpo et inthe same

1 have oftenmade ‘

anemark.wh ieh has prowd

name the striking diflesenee that ex ists hetm n

the French and Italianlanguag es ; {tis thstpovenyend flatness of expressioni s so palpable inthe foru

that it produces aninstant efieot, the bookmirresisti bly from the reader

'

s hands, and he hasnotthe courage to pick it up again. fl atness -ia

Italianproduces a very oppo site M itex cites

impatience, it g ives a feeling o f ve x ation,-

yet'

fix es

the attention in spite of oneself, because ir is

W AND ARN DO‘

I I S f

slowed inalanguage so beautifnly so harmonious,that it

‘

giVes pleasure in the read ing , however

essentially insipid the th ough t o r dicti onmay be .

I always finish; whenI meet with such instances,M '

hating th e autho r , because the charm o f his

W WW WW wasfi bg‘

fi dre

rhs lufiunleugmga

W eh he mm in the mm a,“h uh » marb of rhem to the Italian. “ I“.

a ys ha,“e the an, bave no knows

“bounds. li ttbe trne fi at theytnhemuhm eter

“ofm th t spa km meym h elevsted“M u sh M aenes oh mand gmim ; witnmt‘mam 1mm , m W es p rhape allinmm and mjm to the greatM ic.

"

We W e here abwnh rree of errers h am -

y few

M a. The arts,mm unknowing enylinfits,m eh '

cemscribsd wmno bonnds se mrrow aud so

wellh ow , sh e we nighs 01mm say they are

manifi stm uto eh ildren. r: i s only genius » onM ano bound»; led by e so rt of dnfi m into

the path wh ich it follows, it rushe s M aid s, it .

overleaps the ’ bouuds which a mai d, but at the

shm timéM W ewoukl’

pmeribe ; itastonishes

HI STOR I CAL A ND LITERARY

is thusfar just, that the boundaries o f the . one are

painter be cons idered as rskiliul in h is art, who ,

hay ing o ccasionto mark ve rydistinctly the contours

of one of his principalfigures should, ino rder to

g ive i tthe necessary appa rance .o f projection, places hes-relief .behind ,

the canvas P— Should we not

genius and of taste P— Taste fo rbids us to confound

th e boundaries o f each art, and genius consists, not

ine x teuding these bounds , butiusubduing all-the

buthewillendeavour to polish eud fi ne it; Manyof our ph ilo sophers uppe r tub e inagreat erro rcon

this po int; they imag ine thatthe language dependsabsolutely up

'

pnthe state o f literature and the arts

iu,a country. But itlis the people who ..

speak ,the

language that are its masters, not the enlightenedfew who write it. He nationset

,outwith being wise,

expectthe language of such a country to be superior to that of any o the r. I t .would undoubtedlybe luminous, simple , so ft, powerful, energtfics

pressive , and full o f precision but we have all

begunwith being barbarous ages hava beeunecesg

W '

Y 10. 9335 by imperceptible dq rees from bar

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1 7”

afthe clwtswh ich the tastmhai pm aih in”days,

ha uponthe geo ias end the litentm'e of thcoemtry.

lhave alm dy had the hononr of mentioaingto youM. de Cnyltu

'

s invention of painting v ith'

wax . Conno isseurs have beenex oeediagly di vi h d

uponthe ex pectations that nright be formed fimthis

‘

disco very. The me“diseerning think thet itwillbe much mo re ted ious thano il, and h illnot

have the same facility o f g iving minnto objeeuand transparent colours, thu itwillconsequentlynem bendapted to ruralooenery. With the little

my opio ionwithout any dnger of eonimifi g

i nve nllthe adnntnguand diudvantegée ofmwhieh it resembles very

'much inthe efieets l donot speak of its dunti on.

‘M. Vienin the mthne hu painwd m e m pieees iq eprv

seating bunches of flowe rs, wh ich are ex tremelybeautiful. M. de Caylus has not yet judgnd

proper to pnblish his sooret. M. de Montani.first W W to the Duke o f Oriana, anex cellent chymist, has beenmaking ex periments

inord er, ilpo esible , to discom it, and as ho hasuqt

imposed secrecy uponmml have no reasonto

concealwhat ba told ma ycstevday . I t imthat

essentinlo ilo f turpentine has the property of dik

wlvingm w as to render itpmper to hemix ed

1756 m om AND Amount s.

is the vdisqo vegy he has made ; it is h owever very

possible that M. de Caylus'

s secre tmay be some

thing very difl'

erent; pe rhaps also if M. deMontami we re to attempt carrying h i s discovery intoe x ecution, he might find many obstacles of which

he i s no tnow aware . He has however 1nany case

g i vax us ground to go uponfor making e X pe ri

meats .

a i Ct mde Secondat, Barond eMontesquieu,died law): at Paris at the age

'

af si x ty-five. His

life had beenan honour to humannature fromhis admirable writing s and h is pireeproachable

manne rs. I f it were no t bette r to forget ourfaults, and slim our eyes onwrongs wh ich we

cannot remedy, I should be tempted to ex:claimm at the conduct o f the nation towards

one owe . allthe gimp”muw imm the revolution h is {writings have

efi'

ected inmeanminds yetth is manhasquittedthe wo rld, ’

awe may say, almost unknownto his

W and unno ticed by th em. His funeral

m anonattended by any persons of note ; and of

fillQm‘ ltlemi M . Di de rot was the only one who

paid h imth e last t

to -the g rave . The K ing ,

B I I TOR I CAL AND LITERARY

ions pld snres o ver his tomb , andthe whole nat g , would have set a

brightexample to Europeof . the homage due from

a gratefulnationto one who has added lustre to its

annals by h is genius and virtues.

April. 1755 .1

‘

There is scarcely any nationwhere letters

have beenatallcultivated which has not epic and

com e poems inits language . Fo r a ve ry long time

the inimitable DonQuix ote has no t beenthe pro b

petty of Spainalone , but has beenadopted by all

of Bo ileau, anadmirable wo rk, to which posterityw ill add la Pucelle o f M. de Voltaire .

» The En

glish have a poem o f this kind wh ich has a very

catastrophe of Charles

the first and under Charles the second ; h e was a

mano f genius and merit, ind igent, esteemed and

forgotten. I t rs only withinthe lastm yth“that a citi z enof London, by name Johii Barber,has erected a monument to him inWestminster‘

Abbey, where he is buried. I t is said . that the

h sing conversant with Hudibras has beenfar aoind i sadvantageous to the autho r of la Pucelle ; he

is though t to have ex tracted from it manytinge

ji tter his ownfashion, so as to adaptthem properly

to his purpose, and certainly on the sco re of wit

end po intthey would not ices inhis hands . The

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arsroa(CAL AND L ITBRM Y

and indeed ithas very muchthe ai rolhav ing escaped

flour the penof th isadmi rahlc‘

wr-ite i inone ri s

moments of gaiety and reluatinn. i t is wri tten

practi sed byM. Bachelier inseveralpi ctures which

he has painted ; stillwe do no tknow whethe r or

notwe are inpo ssessiono f M. de Caylhs’

s secret,

since he continues to obse rve the mo st pro found

silence upon this subject. Tho se wh o wish tube

info rmed upon the di sco ‘ver‘

y will find in this

padrphlet all the light th rdwn upon it that

the’

y'

oan po ssibly wish . Th o se who only take a

mode rate interest in it willread the pamphlet

m th pleasure: I t is replete with ph ilo sophical"

rema rks, and 1 strokes rwhi eh bsar a strong improm

sionof? proceedh g'from

‘

the genius to“

Whom1 the

work is ascribed.

JM‘

IM

To returnto-the 'AbbéProvost. Inhi sDisse rtationuponLanguag es, which we have already

‘

par

tially ex amine d, he advance s a“propo sitionlfigbl’y

‘dbserving of farther investigation. The little pro

gle ss that comedy has made inItaly, he thinks, i s to”GM to the impe rfi ct state of soc iety there :

the same might have been said ot‘most parts of

Euro pe ; since'

soc iety ise qnolly imperfect inthem,

find the comic th eatre not ina state o f greate r ad

vancement. Infact, although then are may ex

cellent strokes and th ings truly comic inthe eoniedies o f o the r countries,and especially inthe Spanish

.nlnmu urnantenatal. 1 19

pieces , i tmusthe allowed that, onthe French stagealone , oomedyh as attained any th ing approachingto perfection. Fo r th is we are indebted -o h the

one hand to the supe rio r genius of Moliere ; and

onthe other, it is universally allowed , with good

reason, that inno othe r country are the charms,th e refinements, allthat consti tutes the agreeahi e

insociety, carried . to such a height as among us .

I t remains to ascertainwhether these two th ingshoM m eparahly to each o th er ? whether the one

a r; produces the oth erP— a questionwh ich

yon'

will.at once m resemble s very much initsnature 'the famous dispute 6? the Citiz eno f Geneva

relative to the Arts and Sci ences, and whether th e

oo rruptionthat generally, ina civiliz ed country ,

attends the progress of literature and the arts is a

necessary consequence ,of them

OhrAbbe proves h is propo si tioninthe following manner : The comic scene,

”he says, has no

farthe r compass thanthe manners of a country}consequently in one where society is restrained

I t

‘i to apainfulreserve , what remains

pencilto paint but ohieots o f generalridimile .or

nm oucu. ntnmummy 1 755

mo re unrestrained fo oting , and i s enli vened -bythe constant presence of“both sex es .

”—Here we

find the great advantages o f society to the p ours

trayer o f comic scenes asserted, but only two pagesafter, our autho r appears to contradicth imselfland

destroy what he_

had beenbefo re endeavouring toestablish . Notwithstanding th e defects,

”says he ,

5 ‘o f the Italiantheatre, it. must be acknowledged

thatthere are many pieces no t only goo d inthe ir

kind, butinwhich the characte rsare much more

marked thaninour own. Excess o f refinement

often”

carriea us far away from th e end we pro

po se to ourselves ; ourmanners, less florcible thanthose o f our ne ighbours , render our penciltimid,and infearing to wound naturcwemiss catch ing it.

Th is font makes us oftenstep with in.

too confinedlimits inp icturing the tragic, and stillmore fre

quently occasions our comic characte rs to be

distinguished only by very’light shadings. ~Onr

pictures, like our sensations , failomthe side of

keenness and depth of fieeling ; the ex treme po~

lish‘

o f our manners, which corrects and softens

astute , deprives itto acertainex tentof-its strengthand character.

”

Here indeed are great inconveni ences resultingfrom the state of society among '

us ; since it cannot

be denied that this politeness, this timidity of

g enius, th is cx ceesim refinement, .owe the ir o rig in

to no other . ca‘usc thanthe hahit we have of pass

ing our lives ina constant'

round o f . intercourse

with each other, inp erpetual circles of com:

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1 75 5 mu ons sno t Awes om e.

ot sense t‘rom the fools '

. No t tillafi cr some ex pe

f ience‘ and mnch reflecti onwould he '

heg into teel

the dfifl’erence betweenrealgood-“

bea ding and the

mere‘

alectationof it, betweencharacters and iaclinations , and ultimately betweenrealconversa

tionand jargon.

The truth o f the fact is, that the very idea of

polished society necessarily suppo ses the po int of“

individualcharacter to be m ewimt hlonted , andeach pe

'

rsonto eontract a great clegwe'

ot'

rwem

Hence to the other. A ve ry essential feature ot‘

good. breed iug is to pay a ce rtaindeference to the

generalwilland Opinion, and not to live ina constant state o f oppo sitionto , and contentionwith,the ra t of the company ; because the ir sentiments

do hot exactly co inci de with co r owa. Sach a

pliancy , as it may he jnstly tcrmed, necessarilym ates sameness of character , ex ternally at least,te a considerable degree . This constitutes the os

sentialdiflerence betweenour refinement, onwhiehwe value ourselves so much , and the urbanity ofthe ant‘ients. They having to participate in the

administrationof public afl’ai rs, and having conscv

quently mo re inrpo rtant objects to occupy thei r

minds , had no time to fly from circle to circle in

o rdcr to h illtheir time, consequently had no occa

sionto mdy that constant fo rbearance, that diasiamutation of no r own inclinations, so necessarywhe re we wonid wish no t to wound the vanity of

others; From the moment that amanscts him»

“ep inepposifinneo the genemlsentiments he

arm re s t. um trrsm r 1 755

is conside red as ill-bred and insuppo rtable inao

ciety. Perhaps th is is necessary, lwillnot pro

nounce de cidedly to the‘

contrary, but it is certainthat it leads to the banishment o f indiv idualchameter, and that the consequent unifo rmity it

occasions i s a great parent of ennui . The eflects

thenof that‘

emmt'

are only to‘ be counteracted by

a perpe tual change o f scene, and hence comes

that continualmo vement from place to place oh

servable among the , people of high tonat Paris,their being constantly onth e .

w ing from one circle

to ano ther, without find ing any particular pleasure

having any particular object invi ew inthe

change .

Inthe second place , for the same reasons, such

refinement o f society is adverse to genius, to loftyflights of the soul. Insuppo rt o f th is hypothesis

it is to he observed , that among us tho se who are

really remarkable fo r strength of genius, cannot

confo rm enti rely to the shackles wh ich our laws of

go od breeding would gladly impo se upon them.

Geniuses o f anord inary cast,who , if theyhad beenle ft to pursue the bento f the ir natures, might havedone th ings not undeserving o f admiration, are

whollycrushedunderthe burthenofthese restraints,butne ver willa mano f superior genius be seenwith the mere tone and manner that pre vails in

generalsociety ; there willalways be something inh is whole appearance . that willrender his supe rio

rity,evident. Could he indeed, or ought he to

waste his tune instudying sllthe mutie which

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m m m Luann! ,1 7 65

cognates the soulwh ile itblunts the feelings of the

chance,thantwink: the '

tunable o f’

. inve sfigafi%

m , petty. and fi ivolous. ‘

The o ther inconveni

ence , and a stillmore dangerous and humiliatingone is, that

'factitious‘tam me established ineverybranch of literature and the artsH uston; wh ich

hm ofiglustedi iu the braino f sBmc pedm t, fo r

there arep edants inallclasses, inalltrades, insall

pmfi ssi ons, and which m'

adopeed bythe smultitudc

judgment takeuas thalawp hotfoul'y by fo ols lika

himself, hut'by a vast number lerenof tmen of

seahghted fo r a moment, but no less transient.Y et, wh ile .they

-eudurmlno ci rcle dare pronounceuponany productionof the day, whether it beiulite rature or the arts, whethe r i t be anew dramatic

piece onany o ther species o f public amusement tillthéi r opiniou has first beeu heard ; and since i t

commonly happens that th is leader of th e tonisone of the greatest fools among the polite ciwies,

meanfinned {by those Qf the publier lose the air

gini-ty , itl"

maybo allowed atM ettheir ideas.

Be ing confounded with those that they find esta

bli shed inm ry cimle they visit, onthem only are

advantages that a doped ormind might ‘confer upon

the agge byh its discom by themmpoints o f vidw

inWh ich itmightiplfi e ra'weniety ot’ ohjeots . h is

clear thatg natw i th“productions o f gmius

spiritofnocietseprewails i om allthe charactetei rfll

the afi btianfi fi enlus ‘i s 'natumlly wfld. itkloaes

m wm uaam u'

Onthne ther

.M M M mere'

amusement, fug itive pi eces,

g im me“. AND m m “ 1 766

essays, and other light productions flourish and,abouud, since the study of them fo rms ap art of the

routiue of the day, and the discussing them is aninrpo rtanttopic of conversation.

lt 1s almost superfluous to add, that iu such

a conntry there is no time to have warm, strongand durable passi ons . Dissipation'

abso rhs every

th ing ; itmakes th e mind'

change'we o bject of i ts

attention'

at everymoment, though without receiving pleasure from the new any more thanthe

'

old

ones. I t belongs to the passions alone to'

develope

genius and produce“

great and sublime things ; of

allvices'

pe'

rhaps lightne ss and frivolity is Zone of

the mo st fatal, because - it neutraliz es the virtues,

rende ting themuucertamand useless ; it is impa ssi

ble to place any dependenceuponapersonwho hasno fix ed principles or rule o f conduct.

June, 11 65 .

Every one knows that' mildewed cornhas

scarcely any husk, is black and makes bad bread ,

single car willspoils whole field ; thatthe scarcityd o wn inthe years 1660, and on

some other occasi ons, whi ch was almostgeneralinFrance , was owing to th is cause . Bo th the

antients and the modems have attributed the cala

mity to the effect o f corrosive fogs, to par’

ch ing‘

wapours, wh ich aflvect the cornat the time of ira

flowering and reduce it'

to s'

so rtof‘ashes. Such is

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lessee, the stillnm and silence of the caverns inthe

midst of thesc rocks with the bnsy bustle of onrc ountry houses, the solemngloomandm yedhqrsor

cltbs vast fomts, with our shady groves andsmiling hovers , how stupendous and sublime

W ’ the works pf

fills adults of man!

11111.as4li ot tcflenonsuggested by tbs subjectwe

are uponis, that fo r epidemic diseases, epidmic

m 1 as individ bsl.buttbs classwillremainmmM «inl etwasbcs 1illtllcccm thst is whomsfrhe epidemic M aine, which 11:never practisedby any people collectively. and which should kc

practised byall would consistinfirstinvestigatingthemugbly the nature of the disease, and then

ward ing against it by the mo de of mum and

by bsthS There is not a monarch onthe globewho mig htnot, i f he chose, be the PM of all

physicians, since it is inhis powerto chatty , by aword, the systemof food among his subj ects,andwconstruct public baths . lhave no daubt thattheancients avo ided many di sses“merely by their

practice of constantly using the bath, and that

this remedy with a prom attentiontom l?Wonly system capable o f stopping effectually the

Progress o f any malady, which isW ins My

1 755 mutants 3A31 11 ANECDOTES .

‘

rnb re and mo re general. This article is by I”. Di e

Tlie Academy o f Dijonpropo sed as th e subject

no t to whomthe prize was adjudged, but I doubt

least comparisonwith that recently printed atAm

piee‘

é is ded icated to th e republic of Geneva, ina

‘

Edum uto

muse o f truth and t ne , merits o f his feltewmi

am ni on. AND ur znanv 1 755

sequelto thatuponthe sciences, and it seems evi»

dentthatour autho r was firstled by writing the lat

ter to meditate uponthe nature o fman, and upon

his vocation. His object is fine . Humankind, se

co rding to h is ideas, as wellas each ind ividualof

the species, has its d ifferentages , by wh ich , inthe

revolutiono f centuries, it proceeds from the weak

ness of infancy to the vigour of adolescence , and

from thence through the same gradations as man

to the decrepitude o fo ld age ; itis therefo re the life

o f the speci es that M. Rousseauundertakes to de

scribe . Inthe firstparto f h is wo rk he endeavours

to g ive us Just ideas respecting a state of nature ,and in the second h e examines by what series ofmeans, of reflections, and actions, mankind have

emerged from th is state , have become civ ili z ed ,

and have fo rmed themselves into soci eties, bywh ich

theircharacte rand constitutionseem totally changed . He reproaches, with reason, allthe philo so-

o

ph erawho have meditated uponth is impo rtant sub

ject, withl

not having formed definite ideas of the

state o f natuue , with having always confounded it

with the s ocial state , with having continually an?ne

‘

x ed to the state ofnature ideas imbibed inastateof. so ciety. Th is may be ascribed mo re particularly.

to'

Hobbes and Pufi'

endo rf, no r

geniuses’

always . beenable ' to

and contractiono f ideas wh ic

trating into the sanctuary o f

whatwe do not. see , by whatwe do .

Y ouwillfind ah

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1 34 masoni c“. Amp ar'rsm r 17a5

under pretense of g iving the substance of th e wo rk,

g i ves butamere skeleton; and as to bad wmkg thesooner theyare fo rgotten, the better. To m ke exa.

tracts at all, is th erefore‘

a so rt of animpertinenco ,aud itwould be wellif the journalists were prohibited

speaking of awork whethe r good o r had, whentheyhave nothing to say. They should no t he allowed

to enter upona d iscussionof it, unless the views ofthings taken by the autho r th eynotice , have led

him into making new'and interesting obse rvations

tribute to the instructionand entertainment of the

public .A

Let us returnto M. Rousseau. Acco rd ing to

h im; the humanspecies , emerged from barbarism,

but stillsuch as th ey came out o f the hands o fna

ture , are ina state o f infancy. From thence , be:

ginning to be ci viliz ed, to cultivate the earth, tounite infamilies and so ci eti es, they ‘

enter into the

state o f adole scence , into the vigo rous state o f the

species. Families and societies thenincreas ing, and

states becoming mo re e x tensive, the arts and lux

ury are introduced, mandeclines gradually, and acco rd ing as . the se causesactmore o r less rapidly, he

comes at length to the old age, and finally. to the

decrepitude Such are infew words

our auth o r’

s ideas, as far as I canunderstand them,

‘9 Algreatarmaments to have in'

tmded itsalthue with eregm'd to

the analogy. Th e g radati ons ofmhildhood. add s-reuse and Old

use po inted out. are pe rhaps, very apph cable to the orig in. pro

gress, and decline o f separate states, butthey do not seem inany'

“aug m ents.“ hum-moped”.

1755’

ammoni a ARI ) sarcomas . 1 35 1

at they ins but vaguely defined, as a {asses thecm with the whenlogic o f the dissertation. At

thrmgh , according to this system, we have fallenuses the least happy m or is. humanspecies

thataits old age , amust he zim amthe idea ts grand and fine. Butletus guard againstcarrying it too far, as is the case sometimes With

MrM assed , fearing lest truth may be trafisformed

into 5 chimm , and eloquence into deem uuwThere is,

”says the citizen, anage atM

each ind ividualwould gladlypause , buthow deter‘mine, 0ms ! the age atwh ich thb o Would

’

st

seemthy species to pause . Di s-contented with thy

pre sentstate , fo r reasons wh ich announce to thyposterity stillgreate r cause o f discontent,perhafi

’

“i thouwould ’

st w ish to go back ; this sentiment,h owever, which would be so vw w pmages, would be a severe remetionuponthy oo s

’

those thatare to come after thee . W e

mere declamation. Letus supposem M. Rossseen, thatwe humanspecia are atprwm iusthm'

old age, the perio d, for“erupts , answeriug to sixtyor seventy years inanM vidual, i s itnot evidatt '

that.

we canno t impnte it.

cancrime to anymanto

M dualcannot be a repro ach to tk specia Per» .

Mm may be h a m m z State.

“71 20 1'

136 arsroarcar. s yne sasnv 1706

wh ile the brute c omes outo fi the hands ofnatnte

with allthe powershe ever canattain powers that

cannever e ither be le ssened o r increased ; the hu

manspecies is constantly ex periencing astonish ingrevolutions; accord ing to wh ich their, happiness o r

misery are ex tended or diminished . A state of de

crepitude ;is thento them‘

as naturalas astute o f

vigour ; itmay me rit compass ion, but it canm et

merit censure o r reproach who would reproach a

manwith not having the same v igour at six ty that

he had atfive-and -twcnty?

There is no good inthe universe without itsconcomitant evil; nature ingi ving to the human

speci es th e means o f impro vement, has also ex - d

posed it to the risk o f deterioration. Fromthe moment I am horn, .my destination is. like that o f

every thing which draws breath , to pass th rough different . ages, through youth to arrite atmanhood ,“

and through manhood . to , old age, till-J reach

the terminationof my ex istence , .wh ich is jnstas'

naturalan eventas the beg inning o f it. The humanspecies 18 inthe same situation. Suppo se our

youth to be .past, that the arrangements o f society,our manne rs o f.living , . our habits, and a hundredother reasons, wh ich M. Rousseauhas enumerated

brough t us to our old age, w e’

are

not, therefore , reprehensible, for . it i s’

anecessaryconsequence o f h av ing been. young

'

that.we should

grow old . I tis singular that.onrautho r should .use 1

th is argument to contro vert th ose w ho make objections to h is ideas uponthe state of nature , and

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m 1 735

qfi red ah hitof reflw tienwhid meh es it sm ibh f

of its infirmiM snd otwhatit has b st, butwh ichsh o rcndea itmuch more alivc to the bletsiugs that

remainto izt. And suppo se thatour pesterity'are tobe e redueed to absolute dowephudq their s ituatio d

wilL uo t b e so tcrrible ns Mt lloueseaumpposesc,sincc this . state mtutally brings with iv enhksui tability to its attendant evils. The humanspecks ia th is last steguwillbc lihe thoee dute rds

who may be burdensowc to society, butwho arenottbe leasflso to themselves , bwm se thcy m notthe

Any one who would give themeelves the

trouble of following M. Rousseauthus step by step,

would have the safi fao tionof reflceting with a

deep and enhgheened philoso pher, butwould findit always neeessary to be uponh is guard, lest he

should be carried too liar. Y e t th is defi et is no t’ 3w ithont itsndvantay s, as itprocnres thc render fre

quent oppo rtunitia of di sciplining his mind into a

withinthe ir due houndt -the idenc of amiud ardentand impehuoosrthough food oftrnth . And sincethereinna iling so interesting , and at the some time so

instructive , as to meditate onmn, “may ofi eni

returnto this dissertationaud take itw the'

text for

c tious upontbe mb st importnnt o f ah snbc

Ode rd ectton'

to whi ch we are leé is obvm'

The fi ticenuf Geueva dilates mneh outhe bappi ‘

m d fi e m gc lifi , butwtm does hekm ol

have observed it very superficially ; itmustbe thenfrom h is ownimaginationthathe takes hi s conceptions of thc state . Butwe have as goo d reasonto

tm t the se a g ivenby tm ellers we are in»

deed more ,especially warranted insuch a distnm,

whenwas ch i des howmuch allh is ideas are wnepd

recs, imaginationcanwrest every thing to its own

purpose ; it , passes o ver allthe ills inc identalto asavage life, and transfo rms any trivialadvantagesthat itmay po ssess into the cho icest ble ssings. In

order to have ajust idea o f th e lives led by savag es;a personought to have resided long among then) ;

and ino rder to give ajust descriptionof them, he

ought to have nothing infl aw buta de sire o f as

certaining the ‘truth , no t of passing a satire upon

aminetiong'

aud to wh ich I shall wear he reafter

M the o rigindf lunguap s , tbe other the passion

such as it ex ii ts at the prm tmomeug mnd th ose

140 arsro arcu. urnurm ar v 1 755

o f po etry intwo volumes, under the ti tle o f the

Lemonade Muse. They are the producti ons . o f

Madame Bourette , by trade , a‘

seller o f lemonade ,

and a po etess. Th eywillamuse youwith thei r follyand absurdity. He r Lemonade W hip has sungeve ry o bject that fell inher way from the ltings o f

France and o f Pe rsia to th e water-carrie rs o f.Paris ;

there is no tamanamong our apprentice beam -cc

pr ite but-has h is tribute . The fair autho ress has

encreased her publicationbyuniting with herpoetryalltheletters sheever rece ived inher life ;

‘

apropos

o f one from a certainM. Le Bo euf; she says it

pro ves that amanshould notalways be judged byh isname . Th is willg ive youanidea o f the depth

of thought and acuteness ofwitthatsh ine through

out the producti on.

August. 1755 .

lhave long wished fo r anintervalwhen[mightbe able .to introduce to your acquaintance a lite

rary phe nomenonwh ich merits .wellto be known,

particularly in-a country where peeple are so fond

of be ing amused , whe re joculari ty and lightraille ryhold . so . ex tensive anemmre o ver allranks . This

phe nomenoni s a tragedy which was printed . at

Rouen, and of which not abo ve three or four copies

have ever reached Paris. I t i s entitled David andBathsheba, . and . is the productionofM. Petit, Minister ofthe Parish of Mont-Chauvet . inLower

Normandy. To give y ou an idea of th is curious

piece, fend its . still.more curious audnor, .I will

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m a c“. nun) M Y 1753

(Little) is not w y little by w om thmgh he is

w hy name . Th is is uot lth iuk nuuh umi ss fora

beg inning . He is young . and the most strikingfeature inh is face is a remarkablylong nose . The

pmdominant qualitie s inhis character are extreme

absurd ity, and a vanity wh ich knows no bounds.Easilyflattered.ndas easilywounded, he d mmctelygrows pale with delight, and reddsm Widlllgfi f i

his uose is inperpetud actioneither to snufl’ upthe incense continually lavi shed by those who areturning him iuto ridicule, butwh ich he re ecives as

sterling gold, or to testify the contempt inwhich

be holds his censors aud his euemies ; of the latter

he concfim h'

amelf to have a greatnumberninceit is impossible but that th is should be the m e

with a persouof sueh transoendent genius.

Last summer the Philosopher gf the Mow

tain, ’ metone day iuthe Lum bonrg anold frieudo f his, the AbbéBasset, professo r of ph ilo sophy iu

the college d’

Hw , d lthlfic C'AbbéPe o

titourminister o fMont-Chauvet. Like allgeniuses

Qfa similar atamp, this oame hL Peti tloves ver-

y

much mheer himnlf td h and agenm lcouvem a

W minister of Mont-Chauvet,his the most‘ mm holY Pm M ar the -nu; my talents arc

‘entirely lo st there, since there is notamm of any

Th is was aname givenby th e s oc iety of literati to M;Di .M because he lived atthls titucuponthe hillo f ScintGeue

144

flying‘

ofl; he mustgo th rongh the ceremonyofhearéing i tread ,

to rende rthe th ing therefo re as m usingas possible , it was determined:that the readingshould take placcat the Barond

’Holbach 8 Sundayevening . Fi gure to yourself th e delig hted author

seated inthe midst p fa circle d mew swenty han‘o

‘

terere allready to play him oh; and completesthe

turning h is head i f any thing wes twantingzto aitb

against every thing , was .d etermined tto s peakf ont

plainly, and he did it so effectually; that othep oet

has conce ived ani rreconcilable ave rsionw w h im;

I have no doubt that yonwillbe infini tely, amusedwithreading David and Bagbfltebaq onrselfinbnt

th e criticisms made upongégtm mm mfo rth , and mo re thanall “m y

solemnlyassures us thathe,

Oi

g s

L' Hi tlllwal ve s twli nutv . L :

Ar i

to wh ich the Oitiua-of t

WI

h e endeavoured to dissemble h is displeasure .The read ing began, the company, ranged

round the room,listened attentively ; M.

“

de La

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1 46 nrsromcar. AND uru s av 1 755

th in, as had been agreed befo rehand . He com

plained to him very much and said ;; If I we re

o fteninthe company of the se gentlemen, I shouldbe led atlength to suspect thatmy verses are poor ;I am wellconvinced however to the contrary, and

‘ if they would only ex amine thei r own remarks

with as much severity as they ex amined my tra

gody, it would so onappear where the povertyreally lies . Fo r the rest I am li ttle annoyed bythei r criticisms, I am not servilely attached to myve rses such as I read them, I have writtenmywhole p icce intriple ts, that Imay sacrifice a lineanywhere , without having the trouble of seekingfo r one to replace it.

’

Th is is a fact, itwillafl'

ord

some id ea o f th e genius o f our Abbe, I give thetrait exactly as I rece ived it, and have only to re

mark thatnoth ing is so precious to me as a che

ractcr thus frankly o riginal. Our friend assured

h imthat the society were alldeeply impressed with

admiration o f h is talents, but he was not quite

dupe enough to believe it. I saw them laughingmany times , wh ile I was reading,

’

said the poet,‘and men do no t laugh at a tragedywh entheyreally th ink wello f ir.

’— I t was very true that

one of the party, M. de Gaufiecoart, hold ing his

hands over h is face as i f inanattitude o f great

attentionwas endeavouring to h ide alaugh Y ou

laugh, Sir,’

said the reader eagerly. I 143811,

5 Sir,’

replied the other with a very scrim air, I

never could laugh inmy life .

’ Inshort? said

the Abbé to our friend, ‘ I see thd thihg clearly ;

1 755 m easure s AND am ne '

rss. 147

these gentlemendread wo rks o f g enius, wh ich

they th ink may attractthe public attention they

have noth ing but the i r Encyclo ped ia in the ir

heads, and are afraid lestmy success should inter

fe re with the irs ; but the public willknow h ow

to rendento each one h is due

I t was under the impre ss iono f these senti

ments that our charming poet returned into Lower

Normandy, whence he so onwrote a letter to h is

friend , -.the «Abbe Basset mentioned abo ve , a co py

of wh ich I have the honour of enclo sing . Y ou

w illthere see h is o pini ono f our society. Inorder

to make i t perfectly intellig ible to you, I must oh

serve, that he had placed at the h ead o f h i s tra

gady anepistle ded icato ry inverse to Madame de

Pompadour, wh ich beganwith th is ex traordinary

The object o f this injunctionwas to condemnthe

race of poets who write flattering dedications,‘

in

the hope of getting money ; and he afte rwards

apostrophim them in the following sentiment

No true sonqf /lpollo, unless he rhymc g ratis . The

beg inning had so singular anappearance , consider

ing to whom i twas addressed , th at some persons,who rally apprehended that th e Abbé might drawh imself into di fficultie s, e x ho rted h im to suppress

it. He, h'

owe ver, conceived thatth is advice aro se

fromjealousy, lesthe should get into favour with

db Pompadour, and itwas left standingthe tragedy. But to the

nrsronrcu. AND urnnaar 1755

FromMont-Chanel.

I quitted Paris, my dear Sir, deeply im

pressed with your go o dness. I hastened my de

parture from a place where I beganto ex perience

much satisfaction, butwas afraid I was burdensome to some people . Le tus say the truth ; theytook o ffence at a piece where they thought theysaw beauties wh ich it is very po ssible the publicmay not se e ; they envied me a j e na sgai quoi

wh ich nature, o r chance , has lavished uponme .

‘ I f my presence was irksome to th em, they must

have rejo iced atmy departure ; and, as youwellknow, my dear Abbe, there is no propo sition,howeve r little consistentw ith deco rum, that they

have not cast inmy teeth to induce me to throw

my ,piece into the fire . I leave th em thenallthe

le isure po ssible to make verses to build tragedies,the representation o f wh ich shall be solicited,

and a certainnumber of persons hired to applaud

them. 1 shall probably not read them ; how

sh ould they find me out in so remote a spo t? Iwas told, befo re my departure , thatwhat pique dthem mo re their any th ing was the epistle ad

dressed to the Marchioness of Pompad our ; that

they could not d igest the Return, vile beg gars !

and have se rvedup the minister o fMont-Chauvet

with allkinds of sauce . Be th is as it may, in

the intercourse wh ich I had with them theythought to make me th e ir dupe ; and indeed theysucceeded to a certaindegree , because they abusede e e e e

the frankness o f my character. Butwhathave I

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nrs'ronrcs r. w e L i renm 1 755

therefo re willbe complete . Wh enit is finished ,‘ I shallcriticise i t v ery severely, as I d id my

‘

first. As I am not guided by any ambi tionto

have my piece applauded onthe stage , o r by mo

tir es of inte rest, o ccupying myself inth is way

only to amuse my solitud e , I shallbring th is sea

cond piece with me , ready printed , by means of

which [shallnotagainbe e x posed to the neces

cess ity o f read ing my manuscript befo re peo plewho are mo re dispo sed to laugh thanto be life

fected by it; o r who fe igh to applaud, w ithout

know ing anyth ing about the conne ction o f the

scenes, o r e venwhati s, and what is no t, a rhyme .

I have now, my dear Abbe, to info rm you, that

I shallsend youa copy o f my David and Bath

Sheba,as a present, w i th some oth ers as presents

to difl'

e rentpeo ple , which I willreque st the'favonr

o f youto remit to them. I believe thatyouw illrece ive them ne x tweek, but I shallsend you a

‘ line to s ignify when th ey are sent; thus shallI

putyouto the ex pense o f po stage for two lette rs.

Be so goo d as to acknowledge the rece ipt o f the‘

present, and say whether youw illallow me toconsider myself as your debto r fo r them . Ex cuse

the length o f th is letter, I expect it from your

indulgence . I write to M. Pteron, and send himtwo co pies, one fo r h imself and the other fo rMadame, h is with, both free gifts . Y ousee that Ido th ing s liberally, and do not mind about sixand-th irty sous wh en I think it right—Ad ieu,

‘my dear Abbé. I have the houonr to be, with

"snows AND A N ECDo r z a.

the sentiments youknow I entertainfor so ex cel

lent a friend as yourself, your most humble , mo stobed ientservant, Ls Pnr xr .

’

Now surely youcannotdeny thata few hund reds of such le tters would fo rm a mo st cho ice

collection. To the end that youmay fe elthe full

fo rce of every part of th e abo ve , it is properyou.

should he informed that the passage inwh ich he

Gays that he leaves the field o pen to others to

make verses , to build up traged ies , alludes to M.

de Margency. The minister of Mont-Chauvet had

beenmade to belie ve that he was a poet by profes

sion, and that he would find inh im a dangerous

competito r ; so that there was no so rt o f se rvilitywh ich he did not practise towards him, though

conce iving at the same time a mo st dete rmined

hatred of h im as a suppo sed rival. After the readw

ing of the play the two poets had along dispute

uponthe ir respective me rits , wh ich ended ina sort

o f literary challenge . M. de Margency said he

was actually ennployed inwriting a tragedy upon

the sto ry of Nebuchadnemar, which he considered

as a very delicate and dimcnlt one to treat, and ifthe poet o f Mont-Chauvet would und ertake the

same subject they mightbring what they had doneeveryweek to thatassembly, and submit it to the ir

judgment and criticisms. To this our No rmanagreed ; buthe seemed afterwards to think betterof the matter, and not being particularly pleasedwith the censo rs propo sed, perhaps afraid too of

his antagonist being mo re than hi s M i dL 4

nrsromcu. AND a r enas ? 1 75 5

thoughtproper to seto ff for Normandy only threedays after th ismemo rable sitting . M. deMargency,notwithstand ing , wrote a scene of his tragedy, and

sent it'

to h is competito rwith a ve ry fine d edication.

I presentyouwith bo th , and lth ink they willafi»

fo rd youinfinite entertainment, Now judge wh e

the r‘

the days of festivity at‘Paris have no t been

productive of some ente rtainment ; fo r my part,‘

whenI returned to Paris onth e Monday, I found

our friend s allso into x icated with the follies of

the minister of Mont-Chauvet, that I doubtmuchwhether he inquitting them did notleave h is man;

tle behind

Our li terature has just beenenri ched wi th u

work tsingular inits kind , Memo irs of Madame deSteal, in2 vols . Th ey have metw ith asto

h ish ing success, and are every way dese rving of i t.“

Excepting the prose o f M. de Vo ltaire , I do notknow of any inour language equalto that o f N a»

dame tie Stan] . Anastonish ing fluency, alightand

eleganttouch; a se ries o f reflections at once refined ;noveland true , a warmth always wellsustained

Th e letter o fM. deMargency, w ith the scene o f h i s trag edyQ

‘

f Neduehadne x z ar, though g iveninthe French . are omitted he re.since eventhe folli es o lthe po et of Moub-Chauvet ,

could he rdly,

ex cuse the treating a sacred subjectwith so much levity ; and eveni f this were no tth e case, the kee riness o f th e w itand satire must

‘

unavo idablybe in'

s greatmeasure lost inatranslation.—Trmulator.

Stub'

here mentioned, w ith anoth er celebrated lady of nearly thesame name , now living . Th e iubject o f th e Memo irs inquestionins ure ryM orentperson; and , “the readerwillsoonperceive.h e long cod ed to ex ist- Tw ister.

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154 ntsroamu. AND m em e 1765

thinkmy head turned . Indeed, however brillianthas beenthe ir success inthe polite wo rld , i cannot suppo se that they w illever become po pular inthe streets o f St. James, or St. Denis.Madame de Staal,who inhermaidenstate was

Mademo iselle de Launay, d ied five years since at

Soeaux at a very advanced age . Bo rnwithout a

name , without fo rtune, and alrno st w ithout re

sources, chance ofl'

e red her anasylum ina conventatRouenwhere she rece ived whatwe callthe besteducation po ssible, although our be 3t mode o f

educating ch ildrenis stillvery bad . Th is educa

tion howe ver brought fo rward her mind and

talents, and laid the foundation of her futuretroubles . Persons endowed with supe rio r qualities,and especially with a g reat and elevated son]

, are

very much to be pitied whenthey are th rownupon

the world destitute o f fortune . lncapable o f head

ing to the yoke o f independence and meanness,obscurity would suit them much better; the i r hap q

pine» would have beenfar more effectually securedi f, without cultivating the talents bestowed onthembynature, the ir merits had never heenknown

either to themselves o r to others. I t is true that

superior meritwill commonly inthe end triumph

o ve r all obstacles, willbecome known. will beacknowledged, and rece ive the homage due to it;

but willthe enjoyment of this triumph and the

1 756 u ncle s AND anncnons .

along series o f years i—not to mention the num

berless discouragements which the modesty insepa

rable from true merit daily produces.

Mademoi selle d e Launaylos ing the respectablefriends who had charged themselves w ith her edu

cation, and who from pure lo ve indulged tillth ey

almo st spo ilt h er, passed through a variety of

trouble s and mo rtifications, tillat length sh e was

e stablish ed inthe house of the Duch ess de Maine ,as he r Grace

’

s wai ting -woman. Judge how much,insuch a s ituation, she was inhe r pre pe r place :[would no t on any account deprive you of the

pleasure o f reading in th e memo irs themselves

the account o f h e r debut, and w ith what de x te

ri ty sh e acquitted h erself o f he r functions ; the

accountwilldelightyoubeyond measure . A letter

wh ich she had o ccasionto write to M. de Fo ote

nelle was much handed about, and became as it

were , the fabrick o f her future reputation. Bydegrees she acqui red the confidence o f the Duchessdc Maine, but did no t on that account find th e

d isgusts ari sing from h er subalte rnsituationat all

abated. She had a consi derable share inthe con

spiracy o f her mi stress against the‘

Regent Duke

of Orleans and was sentwith h er to the Bastille .

Here she conducted herself with unparallelled

firmness, and shewed the mo st faith fulattachment

to the Duchess; she was released the last of the

party. Butnotwi thstand ing her eminentmeritandunshakenfidelity, no twithstanding the greatrepu

tatiOnshe acquired inthe wo rld, itwas no twithout

msroaroauAND L I TERARY 17 55

much d ifficulty that she atlength arrived at the

h onour o f be ing companionto th e Duch ess . She

afterwards married M. de Staalan o fficer inthe

Swi ss guards, and Marshalo f the camp ; sh e con

tinned however to live at Sceaux whe re she d ied .

I twould be rid iculous to gi ve ex tracts from a

wo rk which youwillread mo re than once with

g reat delight; I shall content myself with onlyno ticing some of the principalcharacters g i venin

it. Our sketchers of po rtraits would do wellto

become the scholars of Madame de Staal; h e rs are

commonly g iveninth ree lines, butwith anampli

tude and truth really astonish ing . She constantlynarrates, neve r sto ps to make remarks o f compli-v

ments o r c‘

ensure openany one , yet pre sents them

to the reade r with such asingular art and dex te-v

rity'

that h e cannot failo f see ing the ir characters

instantly . She says no th ing butwhati s handsome

o f th e Duchess de Maine . yet i tis impossible no t to'

feelindignationatthatPrincess’s conducttowards

he r, no r canwe atthe end o f the Memo irs entertain

any sentimento f respectfo r the Duchess, alth ough

none of the littlene sses wh ich we know fo rmed a

parto f h er characte r are ever' touched upon. Let

us heartwhat our autho r says of her receptionat

Sceaux whenshe was liberated from th e Bastille;

where she had givenso many forcible proo fs o f

attachment to the house of”Maine: I arrived at

Sceaux .

”she says, inth e evening . The Duch ess

was theninthe garden, [hastened to meet her

whenshe sawme :Ah, litre is Mademo iselle dd

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nrsr ontcs r. AND,munsnr 1 75 5

I t remains to say a few wo rds respecting thelovers o f our hero ine . She represents the Marquisde Silly as a very superio r man, whom she paSSion

ately lo ved, butwasno t beloved by h im ; yethowever amiable he mightappear ia he r eyes , she do esno tsucceed inmaking h im appear so to her reade rs ;

h is letters, some of wh ich she has g iven, are harsh ,

dry and pedantic. InfactI have beenassured that

M. de Silly was byno means a pleasing or amiablecharacte r, and little attractive e ith er inpe rsono r

mind ; he was aninsuppo rtable pedant, and by

nature ambitious. I twas th is last feature of h is

character that atlength turned his head, whenin

a fit of phrenz yh e threw himselfoutof the window.

The Che valier dc Mcm'

l, another o f Mademo isellede Launay

’

s lovers, whose hi story youwill find,was acco rding to the opinionof allwho knew h im,

the most aukward and insuppo rtable o f mankind,equally disag reeable inh is pe rsonand inhismindh is conduct towards h is mistress shews h im one of

.the mo st paltry and wo rthless o f beings. Y et he

was the manwho was pre ferred to the hone stwor

thy Maisonrouge . Madame de Staal appears to

have beenby no means handsome , and there are

people who say that‘

she was no t pleasant incom

pany. Perhaps those who are ex tremely desirous

of attention themselves, finding her much the ir

superior, would take e x ceptionto her ; it is verycertain, and this her memo irs fully attest, that

h was a .womanof great talents, and a h ighlycultivated mind. She was somewhat of a coquet,

1 75 5 memo ras AND snacnor es. 1 59

as appears plainly from her ownconfession. A

female friend said to he r one day Willyou beve ry since re inwriting your Memo irs uponthe

chapter of your lo ve ad'

airsP-Shallwe be pre

sented w ith a fulldetailo f th em P"

I t is onlymy bust that I g ive ,

”replied Madame de Staal.

M. Bouquet, a painter o f po rtraits inenamel,aMember (if the RoyalAcademy o fPainting, has

just favoured the wo rld with a pamphlet, entitled,

m State of'

the Arts inEngland . A title so

pompous would not be ill-applied to the wo rk of a

ph ilo sophe ruponsuch a subje ct — and it certainlyi s a subjectnot trifling o r insi gnificant. M. Rou

quet’

s pamphle t is onlyasimple v ind ication, rather

inthe manner o f our descriptions o f the Curiosities

atPar is, thana criticaland analyticalaccountof

,whathe undertakes to describe . He has, however,scattered h ere and the re some go od and use fulob

servati ons ; he reprove s, by the way, the AbbéLeblanc’ s Letters uponthe English ; indeed , theharsh and ins olenttone o f thatwork has g ivengreat

ofl'

ence to d i reasonable peo ple. The opinionof

the auth o r uponpo rtraitpainting , and the cho ice

of the moment for catch ing the likeness demands

soni c d iscussion. He says that the painter ought

to choose a momentwhenthe countenance is per.

fectiy tranquil, avo i ding inhi s po rtrait every thinglike a fo rccd attitude, o r to o much appearance of

movement, because , says be, every thing of that

find displeases, whenit has beenseenfo ra‘

longer

meroaroar. AND e am av. 1 755

time than'

it could have continued innature . A

smile , for ex ample, w ould, he observes, be d isagreeable innature i f it were perpetual; the painter

therefo re wh o introduces it into a po rtrait do es a

th ing manifestly absurd . I cannot assent to thatop inion; onthe contrary,

‘

I th ink that the painterwho should confine h imself to such rules, would

make the mask o f a man, not h is picture . The

merit o f the artist consists in animating the

canvas, ing iving life and thought to his picture ,

and he should ch o o se h is moment accordingly.

The manwho is med itating deeply and the manwho is ina state o f pe rfect indolence o fmind, a

perfectabsence o f thought, are both completelytranquil, th e same attitude may be gi vento both ;but how po or and dullmust th e genius of that

painter be , who would not by the d ifferent ex pres

sionof the features mark the g reat d ifl'

erence that

the re is betweenthem. The countenance of aper

sonwho has any intellect varies at everymoment,’tis for the painte r to choo se the moment which

willproduce the happiestefiizct inthe picture ; one

willalways be mo re advantageous thananother,though allmay be go o d if the painte r knows how

to give truly that wh ich he has chosen; I should

thensay ; There is Mr . such a one,doing such a.

thing . But, saysM. Bouquet, youcontemplate thé

portrai t for a much longer time thanthe attitude

could continue innature , and the agreeable im

posture of the art d isappears To this'

I answer,

that if I contemplate a po rtrait for a long er time

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1 62 urerorucs t.’

s up m etres } ,

death of the Bishop of Mirepo ix , who se eulogiumyouwillfind 1nthe tomb o f the So rbonne . Fo

re ignerswhodo no tlw ow that every th ing la3fi

doue

here by intrigue and cabal, must be ve ry muchsurpriz ed to see obscure pe ople , who have never

printed any thing , o r . shewn talents o f anykindthzit could enti tle them to be cons idered as literarycharacters, admitted into theAcademy, and intro

uponthe recommendation. of persons ashave very g ratuitquely- l

_

t must, I say, ,sur

pri z e fo re ignersvery much to seemenof this descriptionadmitted into the Academy, wh ile personso f such knowntalent andhigh geputation, as aDi

derot, and aPironare excluded no t to mentionthat there are numbers besides who wi thout be ing .

f

onaparallelw ith those two distinguished geniuses”are very much the super io rs of the newAcademiacian

Whate rsrs omss front. the penfiof, M«Vol

tai re , is valuable inseme pgiut of:view or, other,

We therefo re collecthes'

e evenfhis ,vqry mem es“

one”writtenby him,petlong since ,

tg,

Monte velwhoJastyeerhem e fi gs,“

very ed i meat (Q yqu’ w’ ?Madam, inthe nvcnt o f the Carmelites, and I

do not d quht butthey serve to keep alive your de

votion lf yonere no tyetconvinced qtthepowero f grace , youmust, at least, be convipeed of the

3

um o ras AND AN’

Ecno '

ras. led

power o f destiny I thasmade'

ne quitCireywh ichI had .taken.so much pains to xembellism—i r hasmade.youquity our s eat, when.i had rendered '

it amo ee eharmiag abode sh aman—it bae madaMadame du.Cll

‘

atclet r end hendays inLansing -nu 1“

it hasleondneted tomd j o . the sho reswot‘ the lake ef w

(“

Sew e r-sit has planted youiuttli e fl oh

‘vent ofthe t

Carmelita . Thus does itlsport wi th“us mo dtals

who are buttmoving atom submitted tb the generallaws of the nn1verse ; -laws which scatte r ti e shee t

inthen shock off events whi ch we canne i ther

fib resee;prevent,“

o r funderstrtndfland o f‘whi ch zwe

yet . beli eve . ourselves sometimea‘

the -masters . I f

bless this'

samq destiny thah ybar ch ild renare

pily ppovtided for. I wish you,Madamsali po ssible

happiness , -if~ happiness iaathing w r ite be found ,

or ifno t, at -least tranquilli ty insipidra‘

h sthat may .

appear above allI wish youhealth , which is the

g reatest o f zallblessings though one ~that * ib to o'

little x alued . HonourPme always with your friend-1

ship. Thewheels to! zthis gtreat'maeh ine the um

verse , are interlocked together in such amanner

as to leave me dii d e h ope o f ever see ing youagai h ,I

but a. tender regard fo r you willalways be the

work was published abbut a . month ago . I t con

tains the NaturalHistory of. the Sheep, the Goat,

the Swine, and the Dog , byM. de Bufl'

on, and an

anatomist] descriptionofthem byM. d’

Anbenton;M a

0l:

1 64 HI STOR I CAL AND mu rmur 1 766

th is latter eminently po ssesses the most essentialre

quis ites fo r such anundertaking , fidelity and accuracy. The part inwh ich M. de Buflbnis concerned ,

youwillread with that innate pleasure, wh ich the

beautyand elevationof’

h is style cannot failto produes ; fo r, with alldue respecttoM. de Cond illac and

the ax ioms he lays down, I must be o f opinionthatif autauwould wi sh his wo rks to be read , he must

knowh ow to write . Cold and heavy reasoniugs be

they eve re o wd ld igested and me thodical, willbe

buried inthe dust o f libraries , while he wh o writesinaneloquent style , e venthough he advance sys

tems thatmaypro ve fragile, though faults may haveescaped him,

though he may have falleninto errors

which the greatli ght of truth has afterwards co r

rected, -such awriterwillfo r eve r restinth e hands

o f allpe rsons of taste and d iscernment. I f I werenot so fond o f poetry, I migh t perhap s say that

the re rs too much of it in the description o f the

dog , and severe critics willuo tt'

ailto make th is a

subj ect o f reproach to the autho r. H is pompous

eulogium-of the dog , withoutwhose aid manwould

neve r have ventured to attempt the conquest o f

wild beasts, willbe pronounced by themnot sufiici;

ently ph ilo sophic . The rank also wh ich M. de

, Buflbnassigns to the difl'

e rent species o f dog will

perhaps be th ought liable to exception, it rs not

very obvious why thek

shepherd’

s d o g i s placed at

the ir head. We ce rtainly ough t to ~ be very cau

ti ons of g i ving conjectures fo r certainties, and ph ilo

sophi c suppo sitions fo g incontestable truth s .

I canno t fo rbear concluding th is articlewith

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H I STOR I CA L A ND L I TERARYi t e l . ’

canretairi . I t 15naturalthatthose who are inwant,o r emiction should seeh assistanoe o r consolation,and hearts ofirealkindness, moved hy the

-least ap

pearance o f distress, soonby the ir eager sympathydraw-frotnth e sutl

'

erers allthe circumstances that’

nccasi on the ir , so rnowa' The two Chevalie 1's de

,L’

Aigle . formed .wi th hearts o f ‘thatdelightfultex

. g tune. tro ftttnf ound o ppo rtunities o f ex e rci sing

'

the ir

benevolence inmoments-whenthey leasti

ex pected

it» -

.Seated once uponthe Boulevards near the‘

clo se

,o f day, ,a younglad came and . satdownattthe other

end p f the rbench where .the)s-were . He appeared

hqtjnstpast the ag e o f childhood, h is coauteaance

pretty:and .interesting , and he seemed ‘ o ver

whelmed with the deepeat afi iction. Thiswas suf

ticicntto attract”the attentiono f th e Me ssieurs de’

Aigle . 1 1 They m arked that the objects wh ich

menti oned h is dh h e se semmd connected with ‘a

house directly pppo site eto h im, s ince h is lacks

were pepetually directed towards 1t. From h is age

they surmised that some quarrel, pe rhaps with his

di ther. et h ic;tuto rs, .had prompted h im to fly, inthe

“dread of s evere . punishmenty and' under th is idea

.they oflbred .h im .the ir med iati onwith anair the

heat calculated l'

to inspire~ h im with confidence .

The ir goo dness affected -h im stillmore de eply:“I

am no t said he, .uto meet with

pe rsonswlm intere stthemselve s fo r -me . Simple

curiosi ty pe rhapsnengagesa

yon'to enqni re my fate ,

but th ere is no th ing ‘ init; at least i tmust se em

so trivialamatter to you, that it is no tworth

ruentionhrgg’ i

1 755”5“Ewe xas '

ann‘

hitsféodrs s . 167

iThe so‘

und 'oi'

h isvases so‘

i

mnbhl'

sweete'

r thanh is 'usually to

‘hé h eard'in

'

a youth'

o

'

f'

thathge the4 abundance of tearsthatstreamed do

’

wn‘

thei

mourne'

r"s

d leeks , the attributes commonlyo f the weake r sex

anai r o f embarrassmentwh ich seemed to arise fromwearing anunusuald ress, so onl

’

ed the-gentlemen

to Suspectthat‘

th e ir companioninstead bi"

be ing ofthe ir oWnsex was a

‘

Womanindisguise . They 1m‘med iaiely h i

'

pted the ir susp icions, whrch were in

stant‘lyconfirmed byafrahk co rife|

ssionof the ti‘uthsaccOmpanied by deep sighs and subs. Grief talres

m ay the power o f fe ignlng:she had no inte restto

concealhe r se'

dret, t1 11 d i f sh e had des 1red i t, her

M icfisuWad tool

great to admit o f dissimhlatiolf.iWhen they pressed h er to make them acquainted'with ‘h er reasons for

”

wearing such adisgmse , she Ss

sitated for along time whether sh e should‘no r*tillthe nigh tWas pe rfectly come onc

assume resoluti onto speak ; day seems to increase

embarrassment by inaking it e vident. At length

she began:sin,

”said she, the dau

gh ter o f aninhabi

tent o f Bond i, wh o 1sat presentgardener atGueruremic. My father ina

'

rriéd me againstmy inclinatidn;

‘lloved ano iher, but [was too y oung to

own1tarid re si stmy parents Th is firstmisfo rtune‘Was sho rt,

’

l soonl

became a widow, and thought

myself from that Moment atT’Bény

‘

to make are;

love! i”

adored happy, butmy ihther 1nthe sharpe stmanner reinse d hi s consentto my marriage . B

'

ar

rat, the young manWh omI lo ved So tende rly, wasi

M 4

msroncanA ND e m fi 1 755

poor, butmy heart could pnlyth iuk of the delights

i t ex pected 1nsharing the trouble s o f anobject sodear . I t 18 d ifficult to hear th e vo i ce o f reasonwhen

the to rtured heart i s always combating it. I nsolved . to fly with my lo ver, ahd we swo re to unite

our fates inmarriage the first oppo rtunity. Satis

fied with th is engagement, I considered myself ra

th er as following my husband thanflying myfather.

Scarcely were we le ft to ourselves whenwe found it

impo ssible to repress our transpo rts, and lwus as

guilty as I could be . My tende rness was allthat Icould urge to ex cuse my fault. Alas . I d idno tfeel the e rro r [c ommitted tillmy happiness was

gone . fo r eve r:we are never truly sensi ble‘

of our

faults tillthey rende rus miserable . Wh enI quittedmy father

’

s h ouse I had some money, but itwas all

lavished away inconsequence o f th e fataldelusion

wh ich prevented my see ing any th ing . Scarcely

d id we beg into feelthe pressure o f want, when1

pe rce ived that my lo ver seemed mo re de spond ingunder it thanmyself; i t only g riw ed me uponh is

h is account, but1 twas to o e vident that he had no t

the same feeling towards me .

We atlength ag reed to come to Paris and eu

deavonr'

to gaina liveliho od by sing ing about the

streets : th is was ano ccupationno t new to him,

and it was sufficient fo r me that h e w ished me to'

jo ininit. Sometimes we sung togethe r, sometimes

separately. One mi serable day whenwe had gone

to d ifferentquarters, Barrat d id not returnhome 1 11

the e vening . I passed the night 1nthe mo st cruel

I

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fl

{w ,m tcanm W e t 37 55

spe rm ot‘

bgthg rejectedgnonth e ridi cule to wh ich

I;must ptppse . ,myself ; I caughthim infmy arms ;

q verwmlmed . himwith caresse s, hefo renhe had

the ppwe r YOf Jepelliug me ..

‘

He pretended. atfirstM ttoknow W rflfwtwards fearing lestLshould

betray, him, furthenf be .molt/ me aside to make me“feelgbefiange rM;such a. public ex po sure, and ap

pointed me to meethim the nex t day ina remote

place which he named . Th e ungratefulcreature

hoembiapower o ve rme buttoo well; I:obeyed, andrepaired j o the. rendez vous. 1 I was there s ometime

.befonhim 3 he came , h oweve r,“length,but its-resto deceive ,me . He lost ,

menas muci i as he could

“among turnings and . .wind ings »,withuwh ich w as

”wholly unaqquainted , and then abandoned me to

my:despai r -Jeftme fo rlo rn, without hope , almost

without resource . I willno tdwelluponthe stateinwh ich I thenwas ; it i s easy 'to lhe imag ined, and

the ho rro r. I feeLat:the rebollection18 so .g reat, 1 that

it almost deprives me o f the powe r o f spe ech . Isoon, thawever, conceived a proje ct wh ich I hoped

might recalh im. Whatho had said o f-h is mother

inspired me wi th the idea of seeking her out, and

endeavouring to intere sth er iu-mmfate . I disgui sed

myself ,as a

,

man, and in.the .eharacte r o f a th ied

yetsouwh o inwwstedh imself inmy so rrows ,me rely

th rough comp assion, related to he r the sto ry o fmylo ve and my misfo rtune s. They were, ;I tdtM

jicient, to penetrate a heartnotWhollya liens;andat the momentwhenI am b ermoved I threw my,

961i"

ather feet, sayiiig : 5‘ Y oum inions -

youth“

1 755 11 3 1 101113 m o macno'

rz s.

11 1 1 3 1 11 li J t 1.x u l | W 1 1 6 '

o:

unhappy creature who adoresyour son“, and 1 11 socm

'

éflytréat’ed byhim. Did lo velike minemerit

sucli a l’etutu.i"

'

I f I am guilty, does i t belongtomylover;

'the solocause o fallmy errors to punish

“2‘me ‘thus rigorougly? judge yourself ii' you

think inc desetving o f“

pity, oh , i rispi re himwithth e same s

’

ehti riiont -h ow humiliating so ever itmaybe to nle , I shallcherish i t fondhy, it

"1t can

preserve the from hi s hatredThe state o i

‘

anguish inwh ich she sawmemelted the sdolo f herwhomI wished to so ften, andthemothe r of mylo ve r consented to regard me asher daughter ; shé

'

promisedme her cares, and as a

pledge of her sinceri ty, allowedme to take uponmyself that precious title ; I rece ived i t inherarms

amid the caresses inseparable from"The same

'

blee d which flows inthe ve ins'dsr hhd beenmoved by my so rrows,passfreely

’

th roughmy heart.”th e dhly

'hope

lwh iéh attach es me

success o f itcah’alone render'me h

'

ing the result, I passniynights ihfields;mydays oppo site th is

1

h oose which encloses’t‘

llé objectso precious to my t'

en’

dérii ess . My soul

fli es th ithél' at'

eve i'y instant; I see

throogllmy tears, and although I fear to meet Q

Tooli s, hé’iI S the constant object o f mine .

””i u

sto ry o f po o r Genevieve couldno t flailtdmeltthe heai'ts o f those benevolent audithis who had

'Beeninterested firstbyher silentg rief,

1 72 ursro arcar. AND L ITERA RY

and they o ffe red her|

the ir services to engage Barratto do he r justice .

1 I accept your kindness,"said

she, butuseno violence I intreat; his hand without h is h eartwould be a present but too fatalto

i

me . Paintto h im inlively colours my melan

choly situation, one from wh ich h e alone canres

cue me ; tellh im,alas llblush wh ile I repeat

it; tellh im that I carry with inme apledge o f the

lo ve he once pretended to .beaume,a pledge of

my ownshame unless he does me

'

justice ; e x ho rt

him, if he willno t be a lo ver, atleast to be a fa

the r, and to pardonthe unhappy fruit o f h is ten

derp ess that it has beentoo near a hearthe has

now learnt to despise .

At these wo rds, yielding to th e ex cess o f her

grief, tears streamed downher ch eeks, and she had

scarcely powe r to thank h er bene facto rs, o r follow

them w ith h er eyes to the spo twhence she e x pected

her fate . Th e ir z ealat th e firstmoment d id butse rve to increase he r so rrows. Barrat, to rmented

by remo rse , supposed them cfli cers o f justice sent

inpursuito f h imby the hapless Genevieve , and concealed h imself from them. No soone r we re they

g one, thanhe , who had not befo re dei gned to notice h e r be ing

'

there , came out to o verwh elmhe rwith . the mo st frightfuland unmerited reproaches

He even carried h is barbarity so far, knowing he r'

s ituation,as to th reatenherw ith being consigned to

those abodes o f shame,destined fo r the

‘punishment

o falicentious passion; no r could the wretched vic

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1 1 m; 1m: th a t i f“?1 74 nrsroarcs r. AND L ITERARY 1 756

1

?-

o ”i i: h; )L v zl'

: 5 l' 10 i fl

inher eyes, she may ”mtipte taste the repose ofwhich shehas long beenso cruelly deprived .

( I l f'

January, 1756.We have just received from the AbbéPrevost

the beg i tining o f it

English novel, the

driven, by the author of Pamela and Clari ssa. 1 19,

abnotationsuponthisnovel, tillour translato r shallhave favoured us with the remainder,wh ich

'

he promi se s in the course o f the present

month . Those who are qualified toappreciate themerits o f Mr. R ichardson, willnot be sati sfied with

the planfollowed bythe Abbe Prevo st 1nabridg ingth is no vel, no r with what he says inthe introductionto his translation. He applies to the works o fthis autho r the idea o f Boccalini,

that m every

block ofwood o r stone a fine statue is enclo sed, thedi fficulty only

goo d opinionof h i s 0 shallpretendto be the sculpto r of M1 3

.

Richardson; It is.

he subgentlemen translato rs, yvho

chef}f arme rs, brush awayspots and thatdustwhich .

have h ere and there lighteduponh is admirable statues, disengagethem, if it be m you; power, from .

the earth wh ich sometimes conceals the ir contours ,abut take great care not to letyour.profa

ne handstouch the statue itself, lest youonly betray your

ownigno rance and msensibilitv.

1 756" uM as

'

Amlanebm si ''

D

“1j'Traits of flse

'

nsibility oh -

the '

part’df saucesan?

always precious’

t the goodness o f theirs hearts iso ftena-better security for the happiness ofthepoems tthm the gmndesttefl

'

o rts of thei r g’

ehius . mousse

ago , 1n

d ied in

adored“ -The'

datq)h inonthi smelancholy deca'

sio‘ti

evinced th e mo stpo ignhrit gr1

some rsmailcompenmiontorwh ich was the ‘onlypartof the

he go tt th e-iwidow a

‘f

pensiono f six thonfmnwlivresonthe regaldotnains . S he z was with

‘child ar the

time o f the accident; when'shew“m }themac fie

o f herd elivery she zwromto the aw ptsum tecem-‘

R'

mend the :ch ild to h is proteai onia‘

case 'auy’

thirg‘ " 't

should kW h" 5

flvan-nus. Jan.

Your interestsg'

tMadamy'

are hm mine,"

g,I shallnever consider them in'

anymher'

polnt’of

view. Y ougillalways find ane mmwumh

wi th r

ybo r 1msks,~ am~hwwi tfi t

‘

31mmSe in“ J

mq wer 'to 5mm them, bo th withm d to'

y ourself and to the oh ild 'ybu.m about to b ring"mg

1“into th e f o rm“ I sh ould be so rrythittyour re

que sts wereW addreqmdfi hny other thanmyselfi supon:;whom canyourely with equalteonfi f

13 r

1 76 9“

arsroarcu. Afro m e ant 1 736

deuce . My only consolationsince the dreadful"5

accident, which I canno t bear to th ink o f, is to

f contribute if po ssible towards the alle viationo f

your so rrows, and to so ftena grief wh ich believe

me I feelno less keenly thanyourself.

a

Three wo rks fromM. de -Voltaire have o ccu

pred the public fo r six months past. Theyhave

beensuccessively ex tolled to theskies , decried , con

demo ed , forgo tten. I speak of the poem o f L6

Pucelle , o f that uponNatural‘

I ieIig ion, and o f

thatnmntheEWWM ’“at Lisbon. I t is time to

revert somewhat to the judgment of the public,and to delive r our own, that the place to .

be

assigned these productions , inthe Temple qf Taste ,may be properly ascertained . The po em of La

‘gucelle was known rs o f people h ere be

fo re it came out, parts having been so

o ftenread tuprivate byM. de Voltaire among partie s o f h is friends it had thus acquired a great te

q tation befo re it was presented to the wo rld in

print. I t was coldlydec ided to be , o f allM. de

Voltaire’

awo rks, the mo st o rig inaland thatwh ichsh ewed the most genius.

Announmd 1nth is Way itwas scarwy po ssiblethatwhenit appeared 1t shouldno t be univcondemned ; such i s the commonlot of all

athat are v iolently puflhd beforehand . As th ey, cans never be sufficiently pe r

fif

tions raised m the minds

ex aggerated enconi iums, the y cannot failto disY

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1 78 HtS I OBLCAL AND m m v 1256

tha one was a serious and labo rious occupationto

its author , the Oth er ne ver was any thing but theautho r

’

s idle amusement.I do not th ink ho wever» that any th ing could

have made of La Pucelle a po em strictly to be

called go od ; and th is is the greater pity, since

the subject is admirably adapted to lightand airy

mirth z b ut M. de V oltaire has not, if I may so

ex press myself, sufficient poeticalphlegm to com

bine and d igest a plan. La Pucellc canscarcely

be said to have any plan; the mechanism o f it is

posi tively bad , and it might have beencharming .

La Henr iade, a. nationalpoem, and single in its

kind, is, with regard to th e machinery, a senileimi tationof the Encid and othe r e pic poems. All

that i s purely the inventiono f the poet io .La P1 1.

cells , is almost always de vo id of genius, and ineabad taste ; yet inspite o f these defects I have nodoubt that this poem will, like allthe other pro

ductions o f M. de Voltaire, become a standard

work, and be read alternately with La Fontaine

and our other gay and 5 ?e autho rs . The details

are charming, and th e episodes altogethe r delighte

ful. The g reatmerit o f th is po em consists inits

presenting every moment to the . imag inationthe

mo st pleasing and varied pictures. Every th ingrecei ves its suitable colouring from the recitalof

the poet,wh ile the mo vementand the hustle which

he knows how to ex cite whenhe pleases, andwhiCh

seem to ovcrturnevery thing that had beenarf

ranged with great care, prove that the author

1206 N EMOI RS AND anemone ; 1 79

amused h imself very much in composing it, and

canno tfailo f equallyanms ing the reader. A per

son. .who knows a g reat dealre lati ve to the h isto ryo f La Pucelle , has assured me that it is the pro

domino o f th ree Women, o ve r whomM. de Voltai re

only presided ; that one of these, and she who had

the greatest talents, wasMadame do ChAstelet; the“

o ther two are stillalive . lf sh is be true it pe rfectlye x plains the d ispari ties wh ich strike s o fo rcibly in

the poem, and the d iversivv o f stile wh ich re igns

throughout. I t must' hs acknowledged , howeve r,

thatM. de Voltai re'

appears at'eve ry

‘moment.

The poem onNaturalReligionhas beenverymuch admi red at Paris . I t is impo ssi ble not to

feelthe afiecting beauty o f the poetry, and the hu

manity and lo ve o f virtue that reign inevery line ,

yetthe generalo piniouis that ithad betterhave been

called fibar Epistles to the King of Prussia, thanrpo blished ms a poem. There i s not in‘ fi ct any

generalplan inthe wo rk wh ich unites the o four

.parts together inone connecte d po int o f view, and

th is we have a right to expectunde r th e title of a

poem ; whe reas beauty of versificationalone would

Ihave snfliced to snake four admirable eph tles or

a rrays in ve rse . In comparing th e poem uponNaturalRelig i onwith the Essay onManwh ich i t

necessarily recalls to the mind , we shallfind that

there is as .great a distance betweenM. de Voltai re

and the English po et, as betweenthe careless negl

ligentmuse of Chanli euand the masculine regular’beauty o fRacine orDeepréaux . POpe inhis E8803!

N a

HU TOI I OAD A ND LI TER '

ARY

reasoning , and the mo st pro found metaphysics .

M» de Voltaire , inhis po em, does not pride him

that, i f he does not always samfy the mind , he

cannever failto touch the heart.

The ph ilosophy o f the poem on the Liebon

Earthquake is no t be ttcr thanthat of the poem

onNaturalRelig ion, and the poetry is less fine .

verses. «Inone wo rd , whoever sap‘ of the three

poemS that allis go od is inthe wrong , and he whosays that allis bnd is not inthe right.

April. ‘7 56

Letter of anunknownLady to M. Dw aaor .

Y ouwillbe surpris ed , ai r. thata womanwho

has.no t:the happiness o f knowing you, who makes

no pretens ions to be ing aliterary character, o r to

any knowledge o f sc ience , dao old send youan

article -for your Encyclo pedia. But every bodymust admire th is wo rk ; and a woman, without

be ing able to read, may unde rstand better how to

treat the articlefontange thaneventhe most skil

fulphysicians .

’ I know verywellhow ex tensi ve is

The French wordf ontang e is here retained. though itZN i Z M

b e m w toph otor pempoon, becam the nm e it bem il that

o fthe inventor, and ithas therefore beenjudged better to retainit.The article uponit inth e French Encyclope d iawas undertakenbye physician—Translator.

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ntsromc'

s r. am: LITERARY 1 756

good models are atalltime s scarce . Womenhave

o ccas ion fo r all the . resources o f the ir mind s to

carry to pe rfection those trifles wh ich are o f so

much impo rtance to them. Chance has o ftenled

{to v ery impo rtant disco ve rie s, butminute impro ve

ments are always the effect o f clo se applicati on.

Perhaps the disco very of attraction co st NeWton

less thoughtthanwas bestowed byMadame de Fontang e onthe o rnamentwh ich bears her name if

Love h imself had no t tied it, scarcely would it

have beenretained to th is day. I t is gene rally re

marked thatprudes, true genuine pmdes, are always

illdressed . The art o f dress has indeed aninfinityo f details

,and perhaps lo ve alone caninspire the

nice ties o f them intrue perfection. I t is no t aufii

cient to tie up af bntange and stick it .onthe head,it must be tied w ith g race , and d isposed with an

air ; its fo rm must be suited to each particular

countenance , its colour suited to the complex ion,i tmustco rrespond w ith the Palatine and the sleevebows , i tmust, insho rt, like e very thing else , he

mad e to assimilate wellwith allthe o ther parts o f

the dress. I f the unfortunate Blake , so rid iculed

inthe'

Memo i rs o f the Count d'

e Gramrnont, had

knownthatlemon-coloured ribbands , with little pig’s

eyes, light eye-lashe s, red hair, and a pale com

plex ion, were entirely atvariance with allthe rules‘

o f taste , sh e would have substituted blue instead ;

she would not then inde ed have beenless ugly,'

but she would have beenles s ridiculous.Thef ontang e, properly so called , is no longer

17 56 m oms “

as o A N BCDOTEN 188

wbtnas anornament o f fulltim e, it is superseded

by flowers and d iamonds but some secret instincthas stillpreseuved it as ano rnament fo r undress,and every lady has one onhernight-cap. ls sc ioa

mysterious virtue attache d to th is article o f ap

parel, o r does superstitionintroduce itself 1nto everyj

species of wo rsh ip

am ar‘

m’crted inMe se tsu

'

oluivte of tk’

c

'

Encyelopcdiat'

)

The h illof Montmartre, atPari s, i s called the

(My q sses , onaccount ’

o f the greatnumber'

off

windmills upon it. Some obscure and wretchedautho r, I know not whom, has publi sh ed ThaPhi

loaopki calTh oughts'

qf a Citi z enof'

filontmdrtre ;

rind it:mustbe acknowledged thatli e has01i'

doni'.3

hiswork jo ssice inrang ing h imself among the frhuenm ity of that querter. He Has been pleased té ‘

indulge runtime o f satire against the Unbehéfiersas hé calls them

'

, whi ch at étiery nioment betnys

the tip o‘f the em"

; and wh ich , if we had notlieen'

told so,we could easily have gue ssed to

‘be ofi 'the

producto f .Montmartre . The objects againstmthe sati re o f th is fo rmidable athlete wi th long3 earsismo re particularly aimed , are Me ssieurs dc Bufi'

ong’

and Diderot; the latter aboveall.

Ma . 1756

Tlie Memo irs of Made La-Porte, first valet

de-chambre to Louis the Fourteenth , which havébeenpublished w ith inthe last fortnight, are read

N 4

184 msrom sunm eans 1M

with the utmo st e agerness by“our Par is ians. Ai - f

though they are very i llwritten, there is a some

th ing inthem so natural, and such anair jo f truth ,that they could no t fi ilof success . M. de Lw

Bo rte was a so rt o f confident to the Queen, Anneof Austria, wife to Louis the Th irtecnth ; though

th is Princess afterwards, fo rgetting the serv ices he

had rendered her, sacrificed h im to -the jealousy of .

CardinalMaz arine . Ex cept‘ the manualattempt

o£theCard inaluponthe persouo f theyouirg King ,wh ich i s mentioned at the end o f these Memo irs;

we findz fevv parti culars not previously known, but!

m ay already knowno f -that time are fully con

CardinalMaurine to '

give . the King -a very . bad1

th t- ascendancy which , th ough ehe weakness of

the Queen be had acquired inthe Court and im

the kingdomyk cstabiished very clenrzlyw Cardinal

men, who'

are so eulogined, and so strongly recour-J

always involved ina thousand petty courtintriguesand quarrels, and M. Colbe rt occupied inplanningth e destruction o f his rivalM. Fouquet by the

blackestandmo stod ious means,we are ex ceedinglyd isposed to change the admirationwith wh ich we

have beentaught to cuntemplate theu' memories

into contempt.

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1 86 HI STOR I CAL A ND L I TERA RY 1756 .

tion the piece necessarily sinks into ins ipidi tyand

monotony. Why do almo st allM. Vade’s pi ecesfatigue th e aud ience sto death E's—it is because all

'

h is characte rs speak the same language , becauseeach

'

is aperfe ct resemblance o f the o th er. Insteadof th is, inthe Beggar

'

s Opera, among e ight o r ten.

g irls of the' town, each has -her Separate and dis- 1

mode s of expressi on, which g tve her amarked d istinctionfrom her companions .

Jone. tréfi 9

The ideas o f mank ind '

respecting the talents

necessary fo r‘

a neg o ciator are in g eneral very

vague— inwhat do these talents consist

'

r‘

z—lonceknew amanwh ose genius inwar was no t disputed

byany b ody, Who had a strong and penetratingmind , ideas just and well;dig ested , who spokeWith

great facility, w ho se manne rs were at once? digais

fied'

and pleasing ; One '

day I o bse rved to h im,

‘

that since, acco rding to allappearance, peace was .

likely to continue fo r a long time; I was surprisedhe had neve r thought of turning h is atte iltionto

neg ociation, and endeavoured to ge t anappo int

ment as ambassado r to some court. “I do ub t,"

ployrnent. I am completely unacquainted withthe art o f pe rsuad ing peo ple into th ings wh ich

are contrary to the i r interests.

”Th is man, who

to anex cellent unde rstand ing united the utmo st

truth and candour, thought that these latter quali

1756 narro ws AND ANECDOTES. 1 87

ties were adverse to the pursuit suggested ,to h im.

1 amnot, however, o f the same opinion. The’

arts

of soph ism, the windings o f a subtle and intriguingsp irit, scatter, whe rever they appear, the seeds of

suspicion and d istrust, and mutual confidence is

the very essence of allnegociations . Nothingshows such a want o f address as th e assuming a.

great air of address and s entences ; the narrowest

minds willbe insp i red with distrust and , as your

pretensions se em to imply a convictionof your ownsupe rio rity o ver them, the ir amour-prams i s im

med iately revolted . They'

then, intheir turn, bye vincing great d istrust, th ink they show great pe

netration and , fearing to be made dupe s, become

inaccessible to the mo st simple and unequivocal

reasonings . . A frank and open-hearted character

will; by h is reputationfo r uprightness and h onesty,

do mo re business inone '

day thanthe meno f cunning and address would exe cute inayear. The

true genius fo r business consists in anenlarged

mind , capable o f seeing th ing s inallthe ir bear

ings,but easy o f? access, and fertile inresources

ina mind wh ich can se iz e at once allthe adverb

tages and disadvantages o f anymeasure,and knows

how to present'

it to others onthe side thatappears

the most advantageous fo r th em. Hi s success ,'

in

order to be solid i 'sb onld'

be grounded onmango od faith . I f the Italians have a great reputation

inth ism y as inmany o thers, it has no t beena c

quired by means o f petty artifices , and that dece it?

futsnppleness o f wh ich they are accused ; it i s that

1 88 nrsronrcu. AND “m an 1756

th is lively nation, who se happy‘

genius canadapt

itself to eve ry thing , feels mo re‘

acutely than anyto f its ne ighbours. T he mo st simple impressions

be ing stronger among them thanamong any o the r

people inEurope , th ey se iz e every th ing quickly,

ex press fo rcibly what they feelforcibly; and drawo thers after them by the fire and promptitude o f

thei r genius. Sentimentacts with athousand times

the fo rce and certainty that understanding does ;

it g ives rapidi ty to th e ideas, light to the mind, is

the parent of elo quence, and of the g i ft o f per

sueding . These are the true and only means to

succeed ind iplomacy . I f those mind s that are

always breaking into scintillations, are subject toa pe rpetualchange of battery, and willde stroy on

the mo rrow what they builtup with so much cafe

o n the eve , it i s not so much from pursuing a

system founded on deceit, as because a stronger

I mpressionhaving succeeded to that o f the eve,

the recollectionof the fo rmer 18 entirely efl'

aced.

-But these very minds, if tempered only by a few

grains o fgo od-sense andjudgment, become geniuseso f the first o rder .

A workhasjustbeenpublished , in3 vols. 1 2mo .

under the title ofM rs of theMarquis de Torcy,

These Memo irs, knownto many persons beforethey were printed, were impatiently e xpected , andhave beenrece ived with great applause . The Duchess de SaintPierre, sister to M. de To rcy, having

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“91 756

Dutch muld have requi red of the king the free m

tnm of the French refugees into the i r-mnutry.Buch howeverwas the mes. What folly! I twas

the interest o f . the enemies o'

f France to stipulate

fo r fie e pem ias ionbe iog gmmed to the l‘usestants

to qnit the country.

It is quite the fashionto speak illof women;menseem as if they sought by calumny and detraction

to .aveugae themselves for the empire ex ercised o ver

them hy the irresistihle charms of beauty. Inth etime of Louis the Fourteenth , our b

eam wpr ils

were always scattering around the ir epigrams andsarcasms againstthe lovely sex ; atpresentwhenall” ph ilo sophy, When evenmenof the world havetakenthe infection, o r atleast assume the mask qf

a pedantry ex tremely ridiculous inthe eyes o f. true

ph ilosophy. But if persous ot‘

an ordinaq class

may be permitted to indulge infalse log ic, and to

decide by po or and paltrymodes of' reasouiug upon

matters which belong to sentiment alone, th i s can

never be pardoned inthose whose writings are ia

tended to spread light and knowledg e, and to ashonour to truth inevery way.

Acco rd ing to the principles o fM. de Bufi'

on, the

co rpo realpart o f the attachment betweenthe sex es

i s the only one acknowle dged bynature . Allother

commerce betweenmanand woman, the preference

17 56 m uons A ND A ttacnom . 19 !

lig hts o f sentirnent so h ighly vaunted by pe rsona-of

wild and ardent imaginati ons, that tende r ph ilo so

phy so enchanting to souls deeply inspired—all

these h e cons ide rs as affo rding buta ch imericaland

facti tious happiness , whence really resultno thingbut d iso rde r and calamity. Rousseau’s opinion

upon th is intpo rtant subject is thatwomanbe ingby her nature mo re fe eble thanman, is fo r that

ve ry reasoninferio r to h im, consequently ought to

obey aud yield allhe r rights to li im. Onthe same

principle he thinks that the mother should not

have the same authority ove r the . ch ildrenas the

father, because the weakness o f her constitution

and her frequent infirmitie s preclude her aspi ringto that vigo rous health enjo yed by man. Whatreasoning h as if our, rights innature we re only fin

pre po rtionto our strength, o r as i f, (reenrring to

the ideas o fM. de Billion) itwere very strange that

beings endowed with animaginati on, the clients of

which they canne i ther prevent or destro y, should

place the i rhappiness onidealthings. Th is manner of

philosophi z ing canonly suit idio ts , infe rio r evento

the brute creation, equally de vo id of sentiment and

of refleetion, confined entirely to the laws of a stu

pid sensation. M. Rousseau’

s ph ilo so phy may be

very wellfo r li ons and tige rs, whose rg hts are in

for tbe equality of alleonditious.

le tns thenh y downtwo incontestable prineiples ; the one thut womaa both inthe physial

moroni c“ AND L ITERARY 1 7 56

and moralorder o f th ing s is what ehe oeght to be,and that she has allthe advantages and d isadvan

tages wh ich must necessarily belong to a being -ao

constituted ; the other that the efl'

ects of lo ve andbeauty are not the lean

-calfor having the ir orig in

« in the imag ination, and willconstitute the happi

ness and misery ofmanas long as his senses are anh

o rdinate to his imagination. Allthat canbe said

further againstwomenis eqnallydestitnte of reason

and phi lo sotthy ; allthe defects with wh ich they

are reproached are the work o fman, of societyumdof anill-regulated education. OughtWe infircttobe astonished whenwe see them artificial, hypocri

tical, fullo f trick, when allonr eares tzend to in

spi re them w ith , and cherish inthem, those -sen

timents which .the,unjust laWs o f a eh immcalde

comm condemnthem to conceal. Incessantly‘

har

raswd betweensentiments wh ich are anth or'

ncd bynature. had the customs which anarbitrary state of

society have erected into a duty, how are they to

e x tricate themselves from alabyrinth where every ,

thing“

realand naturalis sacrificed to what i s inna

g inary and fi ctitious.

I tmay be said with truth that the edncationof

meni s bad enough, and in.itaprinciples contrary in

much more deplo rable is thato fwomen. [f our early

youth be lost infutile stnd ies atcollegc, which mixly desirable to fiorgetas so onas poésible ; we ave

at least onour entrance into the world,rinstructed

inthe trne sentiments ef honour ; thc stndies of onr

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1756 nauo ras . AND as scno ras; 195

covéi'ablylostbefore she has evenbeenafl'

o rded the

means'

of reflection: Alas! whenwe reflect can'

di'

dlyuponthe dangers inseparable Fromsuch'

a si

tuation, far frOm being severe uponthe e rrors o f

womankind ,’

one i s tempted to consid e r any one

who ci capés with innocence from so severe a trial

as a

A‘

mi thstma'

ny such miracles do ex ist,i ii spite

of‘

the ob stacles by'

which‘

they'

sré surrounded; inspite of oue calhmni és

‘

and philo sophical'

pride ,'

can7"

not be denied . Since then'

it is‘

o rily by ami racle

o r sm e lling approach ing to it'

thatthey canbe pre

served fromfalling amid the surround ing temptsam , what claim have not such women to

'

the

public esteem; is it to o‘mttch to say thatthey ought

W 'be'flnlbst’ the ‘

o bjects'

o f our adoration:“'w

che rfinstauc'

es'

alond interpose to prevent '

the ruinof

whitten’ Whfle '

somhui conSp ireto promote‘

it. Oc

cdpiéd'

ah tost entirely wi th soit'

aud tender pas

o f the calamities ‘

of mankind, and to those obscureand odidnbM '

Which so oftensully the minds(itmed.

'

Selntinwnt‘

is inwomen a mo re quick andlively, aswell

'

as amore‘

delicate feeling thaninmen, and iti s this principally wh ich preserves them,

'

and prfiveuts their falli iig into stillgreatermisfortunes thanare

’

the i r o rdinary lot. The quiveringglimme ring light of sentiment is a th ousand times

more sure , more to be d epended onthanthe brilliaht flame

'

of understanding and reason.

’

Tis for

O 2

1 96 nrs'roarcar. AND m naaar

th is reasonthat mencommonly plunge headlonginto enormous frailties , and fallwith

"

a dreadful

crash , wh ile many awomanrecedes evenuponthe

v‘

bry brink of the PI’

CCiplce .'

MM 1756.

M. de laBeaumelle has published ,ia Holland

aned itionof -Madame de Maintenon’

s Lawn innine volumes 1 211 10. with six volumes of Memo irs

o f that celebM ed woman. I t has beenuponthis

the precise moment when the li fe and letters o f

i f they had beendelayed many yearslongerno one

.the CourtofHenry the Fourth , saysM. de Voltaire ,

reign of Charles the Ninth , buti

any one who

sh ould now take it into his head to publish thetattle of those timm,unless 1twasworked up into an

inte resting no vel, would be sure‘

ofno t being read .

recent that it seems fresh in our memories ; there

evenstillremainamong us some few of the acto rs

in, and witnesses o f, tho se events. Intwenty o rthi rty years from hcncc wi llcome the turno f the

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lgs 1 765

the hest, byM. de Voltaire himself, he wouldwrite,

anagreeable work beoauoe every th ing that comes

fiomhis pm mw bEsmbntnever could hq wthoutwound ing truth at every moment, succeed in

making his heroine intecesting . A man of great.

talents willtherefore avo id sueh , a subject“ Let

the firstmistress o f Louis the Fourteenth. onthe

contrary, the tender the afl'

ectiouate Dmhess doLaValliere, be celehrated by ah istorianWith .

only

anjnterest inher memory, as they shewmence towards thatofMadame deMaintenom Louis

the Fourteenth himself, who of allthe Kings thatever reigned, had the greatest degree of homag e

paid him,who was themo stflnttered andwonbippod,i f 1113m have foreseenwhat .we now. thinknfhimwould not have d ied withotnknowing himelf

better. The m of . his .mignis nndoubtedlyfanex traordinary one ; but what merit is it -to be the

chteinpo raryof such menas aTuren'

ne , aColbept,a Co rne ille , aMolten, a La Foutaine if we damnshare their glo ry by superi or quali ti es; or atleast

by solid ones, in ourselves. Po sterity cannever

consider Loui s the Fourteenth as amnnof talentl ;h e me fond of great th ings, buta pedanttm '

tially anhone

stmau, butspoiledand nenderednnv

othe r, believing that he could create at hiswillmenof genius inall‘classes, yetnever tibia“) throwof the emp ire ofwomenand o fpfim Politicians,

M fumdatien, .whethér i t'

he good nr bad t

and fawthe roam s mey fairly userty iuM anoe

ef their o pinion, that'

the ir characters rise oat o f

The President Hénanlt says o f Loais the

M that he m bom at 'the pre e ise mo

ment proper for sud l a ohm cter ; for anearlier

period he -wonld hm been-too feehle , fier alater

too d rcumepect ; sonand father to the greatest

throm o f Henry the Fourth, and prepared the

m dm -

offi efl guof i o uie fi e fimrteenth . I t

mast be d lowed that the love of antitheses oftenleadsm'mtahle discoveries. Happily forus if

'

the

m nknw n'

in-history-hy the appellationof Louis

m otherantithesis to provemat itwasetillbetterhewshould f have eome at thattime. Bat

'

h e do es

ne b umider thatamanb oruwith the same fuum;mentale haraeter if ' he had conic ino ther times ;

fi rent'

opini ons, would haVe been, iu~

one "word,another“ a Loais the Tlfirteenth 'no more pre o

m e m new dm Hénanh drmyself; Louisthe Fourteenth f lwW Colhei-t -md Lew d ! use

W ren. m Lam ar 1 758

ministers, and'

l‘

urennt as Mamet-a], ww a vmy

aff erentmm fromLouis the Fom-teemh with Viilars as h is geom l, and Chamilh rd as h isfmininfl .

flattm sd h imuelf thatvhe conld make as‘

gmflzmo f Villars and Chamfllard aathe ir pre dccessors

vhad

Inreadiog the Memd rszofMadame do Main

tonom itwillhe imwufihlernot to’

make coulo m b

humfinnatnré to ue aking t oM pied with Jame»

nifimp fi tb Quietism, wkh Mandam ses; with Paa

to rallnstmctiom;with the anwtitutitmUm'

gqu'

lm,

thgthe huno tm to thi ok ofwothing the mh efieaaodpmmotimg the hlppim ofhismbiects gpomfi iywfllsymmvhiwm eefing’ywith them ynishum t

oo the ing gm nhadthe hononr of being hh; Wifc;though ha m miesaocuse h er of having beenfd s

‘

e,

mum devotiomthoogh itmightbc o ventmined,’

inthe wod d for { m o i wh ats, bnt'

thathcr

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1 1 .

-

inm os t.“

w e’umu r 1 756

atthe eventwhich forms the subject‘

o f themonom t. Every

-body admires the beauty and subli

mity o f this figure , alike for the noble and antiquetaste inwhich it is ex ecuted , and far the strong

fine . A Genins wh ich is in the baclr gronnd and

which bas the air of aCopid intears, dropping his

willbe baniOhed . Such anidea, t00 poo r fi)r ths

people wi sh thatthe head o f Death sbo old be part

ly enveloped inthe drapery which conceals the rest

of the skeleton, and this wonld perhaps be ina

better taste . i t is also hoped that the figure of’

the Marsbalwillbe made to resemble him mo re ;this is indeed eqsenttal, and very easy to be done ,

sinee we have hnsts of him tvhich are ve ry stronglikenesses. The whole of th is figure seenis the

part most~ opento x ritieism, he should no tlook

np inthe air as he do es but contemplate Death

wi th a firm and intrepid eye . This expression

would pe rhaps be d ifi cnlt, botnoth ing is impossi

ble to a~mano f genius ; it i s beside s absolutelynecessary ; we neve r look inthe air whenwe are

to be ex ecnted inmarble . I twilldo eqmlhononr

to the greatman-whom it commemo rates, and to

the king by wbom itis erected; and willwith reason

be c regarded as onc e! the'

finest ‘

prodnctions of

M

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arsroarcar m 1“

) mm “? f7e6

laughage, a certaindelicacy of o rgans is requi red,which

“isto b

'

e found only among a'

smallnumberof persons of taste residing inthe capital, it is

almost‘

lo st to provincials and persons o f other

countries.‘

The merit of M. Daubeutonwill, on

th e contrary, be feltmo re strongly by them it is

durable and solid, and the i'

dlers'

of Paris are the

class that of allothers have th e least relish fo r

th ings of thi s description. Le i:us then confine

ott‘

r‘

strictures to M. de Bud'

on’s part o f th e work,

and inorder to judge itWith due criticalseverity“

letus be constantly onourguard against the seduc

tive majesty and poetry‘

o f his’

bt'

ile . I f he misappli es this dangerous instrument and turns itagaihstth e interests o f truth b e willbe mo re guilty than

another, in propo rtionas h is'

talents are,superior

to another’

s . It is thena heavy reproach l have

to make h imuponthe pompous eulog iumof hunting , prefix ed to h is descriptionof the stag . I willnot suspect h im of seeking to

‘

pay his court to the

great, by flattering their predominant taste at the

and her sacred rights ; th is

would be,anunp

'

ardonable meanness. Courtiers

may indulge themselves,

inth e despicable habit of

complimbnting every th ing they see doneby those

onwhom thei ruseless ex istence depends, but the

ph ilo sopher owes nothing to princes ex cept silence

o r truth . Without suspecting M. de Bufibucapac

ble o f betraying truth , I must observe thatnoth ingcan be mo re unph ilo sophical that what h e says

uponhunting . I f h is mm were no t entitled to

“M01 1 8 M D ANBCDO’

TESt

a rhetoricaldeclamatiou

and -

phrases, destitute of i deas, and stifi‘ more?

destitute, if po ssi ble; o f that good sense wh ich ;

oughtto he the inseparable compani onof t rue phi ."

losophy. We need only compare tfi s '

efi'us ion‘

wifi whatwis said uponthe same subject in the

W wi md wh ich -is from the penof M;

Didemty w see howM u mfi e language of true

philosophy is ~fromimatof our naturah'st. ~

the -futfle m oum o f M W fl'Wh ich i only

W ent o f f-man, o ravanfiri'

the‘

pleasures'of the

“NWmayhe insum so re excused , butmaumuse

ei ery semd o fsthe'

wo rd; 06

the m of

m’ug suclr an

anonly he cuntidered as the shamefuland guilty

ursroaxcansune saaar 1756

occupationo f a madman, a'

hundrcd times mo re of

a‘brate

'

thanthe brute’

he pursues,’

and who , ties

pising the laws o fnature , is incessantly interruptingits beauty and harmony. I know that the greater

part of those who make it the i r daily urnusemo

eut

are not guilty to so g reat an ex tent, they onlyindulge tuanex ercise which they consider as harm

cdme :but 'th ey ought to reflect'uponthe nature

o f th is amusementand butalittle reflectionwould ,

surely suffice‘

to couVinc'

e

‘

them thatnoth ing canbe

more barbarous,'more in

'

opposition to thegene;

rarity on"

which they prid e themselves, thanto seek

sentientb eing; a creature againstwhich theycannot plead ine x cuse

"

that it eve r does injury to anyothe r

‘

beiug .

'

~I f habit, education, and the power

of customp revent these reflections occurring tothemass

'

of 'mankind, those at least'

who do,re

shouldnever inh'

ke manuerneglect’

and be tray its

august and sacred rights I am not'

at all o f the

opinionof M. Rousseau, who inone o f h is fits of

spleensays that it is as Wellto let princes hunt, tor

fear,if prevented, they should do wo rse th ings

against Ma de Bufion,'

and which his enemies

have not failed to repeat with a due po rtion“

of

acrimony, is h is devoti on to his”

systems. I was

in hopes that he had corrected'

this'

defect,

"

atleast his Dissa'tationonthe nalm‘

e qf animals

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HI STOR I CAL sun 1.1mm 1 750

pretty mudh in the same case . Since , acco rd ingto his system, the state o f savages is thatwh ich re

the most confo rmable to nature , there 13no vi rtue ,no happiuesswhich he does no t find init; more

espec ially he considers it as wholly ex empted from

crimes . In vairr does true and impartialhistoryrepresent how much the savage is add icted to ven

gesnes, howmuch he i s bynature suspicious, and

h ow inextinguishable and cruelare his hatreds , heopposes to facts so wellknownahold asse rtionthat

the savage is a stranger to resentment, and that

the momentthe offence i s past, h e forg ets it en

titely. Butthe mo st ex traordinary th ing of allin

these systematisers is, that they easily perce ive how

o th ers are abso rbed intheir ch imeras, and neversuspect that they are themselves inthe same case .

I have sometimes thought that this prepossessiom

wasnecessary to og ive the ir ideas the warmth and

strength we see . Ineffect i f they could fo resee

how the ed ifice wh ich they have raised with so

much to iland pains is to moulde r away, they could’

not feelthe pride initwh ich are daily witness. If

true ph iloso phy were once to be established amongmankind, there

'

would , acco rd ing to allappearance ,be no writers, and perhaps th is would not be

“

a

great misfo rtune ; we should thennot see people

hating and pe rsecuting each other for diffe rence of

op inion,(

and if so , the cessasiono f writing , far

from be ing anevil, would he the most valuable of

blessings.

MEMO!” A ND A NBCDOTRQ

Gunnery. 1 757.

JBernard ls Bouvier de Fontenelle, Deano f

the French Acad emy, and of the Arcadehfiee of

Science s and inscripti ons, d ied onSunday the

N inth of January, in'

the e vening . He had ve ry

nearly comple ted a hund red years, as he was bo rnoa ths Ele venth o f February , l65 7 .

—M. de Fon

tenelle i s one of tho se ektrao rdiw y amenwho ,

w itawa fo r a century of allthe rew luti o hso f the

humanmind, has contr ibuted h imself towards aarcomplish ing some, and has prepared the way to

many othe rs. Bo rnw ith out genius, he owes all

h i s success to the clearness, the correctness , andthe . prec is ion. o f h is mind , to a style ingenious,flowery, and ina ce rtainway brilliant; a style o f

which he was the creato r, and o f wh ich there has

beensince , such'

anumber o f bad copyists . Whilewe are waiting fo r the time whenthe succe sso r o f

this celebratedmanat the Acaderby, shall, inh is

egi qg ium,tg ive us an idea o f hi s meri ts and h is

literary labours , I willendeavour to present you

with some sketch es, haz arding at th e same time

some reflections by the way, thatwillg i ve you an.

id“o f h is character. c .

Academi calspeeches commonly containno'

Mug butvapid and fulsome praise s, heaped toge

the r Without discernment o r tastemat the subject should be treated very thli

'erehtly.»

The life o f M. d e Fontenelle , cons idering the

various obje'

ets w ith wh ich it i s connected , would

afiord _fine scope for the penof a philosope r ; it

P2

arsroarcar. AND LI TI RARY 1 751'

would involve the h isto ry o f philo sophy, and the

revolutions it has e x perienced inFrance from the

time of Descartes to the present moment.—What

a g rand subjectl—M. de Fontenelle was one of the

most celebrated d isciples o f that destroye r o f the

scholastic ph ilo so phy .,

Atpresent that the N ew

tonis h system has triumphed inFrance , as inall

the rest o f enlightened Europe, o ver every other

ph ilo sophi calpro fessiono f faith ,the only adherents

remaining to Descartes, are M. de Mairan, who

has givenus a Treatise uponthe Aurora-B orealis,

and ano th er uponthe Nature of I ce, ,with a fewr

mo re o f the oldestAcademicians, no t menof anynote . A time willve ry likely come whenthe d isci

ples o f Newtonwillbe no mo re invogue thanare .

now th ose o f Descartes . Every th ing i s revola

tionary inthe humanmind, as wellasjnthe physical and mo ral order o f the Universe ; schools

destroy one ano ther, the names o f greatmenalone .

remain, like the immense pyramids o f Egypt, in

spite o f the,e ifort o f ages , and the ravages o f

time . Th e Whole cro od o f subalternph ilosOpbe rs,disciples of the opinions o f others, willd isappear,willbe efl

'

aced from the remembrance o f mankind,the names alone o f such menas Newton, Le ibnitz ,Descartes, Bacon, and some others, will, combinedwith th o se o f Aristo tle and Flarp he rememberedand h eld inveneration, as long as ph ilo sophy and

letters shallendure .

What will saVe M. de Fontenelle from the

oblivioninto wh ich th e apostles of ,

a fleeting reli-s

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-nrsroarc1t1. AND L I TERAltY 1 757

to feelhow detestable themanner iswh ich the votaries of M. de Fontenelle have endeavoured to

establish, we have only to e x amine th e productions

of some o fthose writers who asse rtthat thei r stile ts

fo rmed fromh is canany th ing h e mo re detestable ,mo re insuppo rtable than the

o

wo rks with wh ich

they have overwhelmed the public. Happily, and

I knowno t by whatmiracle such a th ing has beenbrought about in th is instance, since pe rhaps ano

the r instanee o f the kind could scarcely benamed,happily, I say, the go od M. d e Fontenelle has

done by the ph ilosoti h ic Spirit wh ich re igns inh is

wo rks has had i ts full‘

efi'

ect, w ithout‘

the illthat

might have beenoccasione d by the false model

g iven inh is style , having had any pe rmanent ill

consequences .

'

Fo r th is the nati on w illowe an

e ternal obligation to M. de Voltaire , though“

i

th ink it is one,the ex tento f wh ich isno tsuffic ient

ly felt. Th is g reatman came at the precise mo

ment to pre vent the farthe r e x tensiono f the false

bel-esp rit: thanks to h im the Abbé'

l‘

ruhlet, and

some o the r insignificant wri te rs , are the only ones

now remaining who pass th eir lives inturning and

re eturning ph rases, intwisting and twi rling laboriously a pue rile diction -who employ themselves ,

as M. de Voltaire said o f Marivaux , inwe igh ingno th ings inscales made o f a spi der

’

s web. The

easy and popular philo sophy o f M. de Voltaire , his

style at once simple, natural, and o rig inal, the ia

espre ssible charm o f h is colour ing , so on taught

us to despise those epigrammatic turns, that equi

1 757 narrow s AND as acno '

ras.

vocalprecisi on, those paltry beauties , to wh ich

imitato rs with outtaste had g ivenatransientfash ion:

This true modelfor style, has since beense condedby allwriters o f read talents among us. M. de

Buflhn, i f no t a deep ph ilo sopher, must e ver be

admi red as one o f the fine sto fwriters ;M. Diderot“;in penetrating into the deepe st rece sses o f truth ,with astreugth and genius rare indeed to be found,h as knownh ow to combine inthe happiestmanner,th e most extensive ph ilosoph ical views, with the

most bri lliant imag ination, .and the mo st ex quisitefeeling o f the fine and beautiful. JeanJacquesRousseau even, inseeking to establish h is para

d o x es has suppo rted them inlanguage so simple ,

yetso nervous, th at hew elldese rves to participate

inthe glory o f the other great menI have named.

But fo r them we should now Speak and write an

unintellig ible jargon. To th e simple beauty o f

such language, M. de Foutenelle was h owever

wholly insensible ; l have o ften had occasionto

remark thatinwhateverwas related o r read to h im.

he seemed always lo oking fo r the po int. Insensi

ble to e very oth er species o f beauty, whatever d idnot conclude w ith acme turnwas anullity to h im.

He had seenallthe greatmeno f the age o f Louis

the Fourteenth , he had be enthe ir contempo rary, in

some so rt their rival, but; they we re scarcely ever

mentioned by him. I am autho rised in'

believ ingthat he held Moliere and Racine very cheap, and

as to LaFontaine h e ne vermentioned h im but to

d ecry him. There are, however, verses o f La

P 4

ursro arctr. AND mramtav 1757

Foutaine'

s , wh ich I had rather have written than

allthe wo rks o f M. de Fontenelle . Co rne ilIe -was

h is man, h e ex tolled h im abo ve every th ing, but

he was '

o f h is ownprovince , nay -mo re was his

uncle . And then what a reasone r, a kind of

beauty to touch M. de Fonteuelle .

He retained the faculties o f h is mind to the

last,-almo st unimpaired . But fo r his dea

which pre vented hi s mingling inconve rsation, h e

would have beenas ag reeable incompany, as if he

.hadno tbeenmo re thanth irty. No t. long ago he

said to a young woman, ino rd e r to make her . son

sible o f the impressionher beauty made uponhim,

Oh that I were only f ourscore years old I“

Inthe

course o f the malady wh ich terminated h is life , h e

said to some one who asked ‘h im ' what ills he felt:

N one,unless ithe thatof ex isting ; thiswas speakingmo re . to the purpo se thanh e generally

‘

d id.-A

woman-wellknowninthe wo rld,Madame Grimaod ,made h im a visit about six month s ago , be ing thenahundred and three years old : tidy dear Sir , sai d

she , Providence seems to have.fo rg ot that there

ore lma such being s inthe world as youand me rM. de Fontenelle put h is fingers to h is lip , and

w ith a very arch lo ok, said : Silencd — I t was byanumber o f such po inted saying s, and ingenious

turns, that he rende red h imself inh is latter years ,

infinitely agreeable insocie ty .

His private life was unifo rm and tranquil he

was always cited as a modelof d isme tion; how

o ftenhas h is conduct, inth is respect, beenset in

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2 13 am ni on, AND murmur 1 73 7

i de awh ich proves admi rablyothe great ouperinri ty

-

o t’

a hem of sensibility o ve r one wh ich fi els

no thing I t i s (1t to live a long timq ina

quartero f anhour, whenwe lo ve noth ing but epi

gram, aud it was that alone wh ich could ever melee

any impress ionuponM. de Fentenelle fha i s said

neve r to have been afi csad by music o r’

pe inting,o r by any o f tho se arts that oftenfascinate hearts

o f a difierentteatime so powerfully. M . Dide rot

having seenh im th ree or fom'

years ago , for the

first time in his life, could not fo rbear shedding«tears atthe vanityo f li terary glory, and o f allhu»

manthing s. M d e ntenelle perceiving h is tears,enqui red th e cause o f them ; itis , said M. Diderot,that I am impuessed w ith ; very singular sentium rt.

Sir, said oM. de Fontsnelle, sto pping h im and

'

tenh'

ment entir ely to tile eclogue . Ananswe r verysuflicient to dry tears wh ich tende rness and the

lo ve d -humanity had called forth from a h eartof

warm and benevolent fe elings.M. de Fontenelle pri ded h imself much upon

never having inh is lifeasked a service of any one :h e migh t have added that he

=neve r spontaneouslyrendered one . A . lady o f greatwo rth and talents,inwh om he placed much confidence , and .whom

he has , by way o f parenthesis, named as e x ecu

tri x o f h is w ill, Madame Geofl

'

rin -this lady has

always said that there was but one way o f impellingh im to do a se rvice, wh ich was to lay your com

mands uponhim, to say it,must be done. To the

1 757 unuoms AN D ANECDOTES. 3 19

great, it' must,he ne ver had any thing to reply,

.hnthe coald'

not by anymeans have beenbroughtto tes] that it

'

was ex ped ient, o r a th ing requiredby humanity. The most ho rrible trait o f h is insen

‘

ei bility that has eve r beencited, is the sto ry o f the

asparhgns. He was particularly fond o f these

vegetableswbut preferred them very much dressed

with o i l.’

One -

’

o f h is friends, I th ink the ' Abbe

Terrasson, going - in one day, intend ing to d ine

with h im, M. dc Fontenelle said that he wonid

make a g reat sacrifice to h im,and have half the

asparagus d ressed with butte r. Re ihte the time o f

d inner arrived howeve r, the visito r was takenill,and felldownafier a few moments inanapoplectic

fit ; M. de Fontenelle ,‘

onth is ranwith great haste

anthe kitchen, calling out : allurith o il,allw ith

W;‘Bnt the most ho rrible part o f th is sto ry

is, that-a

'

sh o rt tim<= after, b e ing at d inner with

dle -same 'lnnd Hyde mentioned above, whena disho f asparagus made a part of the billo t fare , hech ewed thatwhat he had said , seemed to have

brought'

tlie’mverymuch into fash ion. With sucha smod é of » th inking, he would pro bably have had

few ftlend s, if th e vanity of being connected with

a celebrated man, had not led many people to seek

h i s soc iety.

Th is extreme indi fference was so much the

Jeading feature o f h is character, that is was carried

i nto'

ei ery th ing , and o ftenprevaile d o ver the just

ness of his th inking , particularly in allmatters

thatwere any way connected with sentiment. He

230 nrm mcsnas » .urm nr ‘

1 757

said thatif he could h old truth inh is hands, as he

could a b ird, he should certainly stifle it; so muchd id he conside r the no blestgift o f Heavenas use

less and dange rous to mankind. He had infactno

rang ing , and this ind ifi‘

erence , wh ich he preserved

allh is life, is much mo re naturalina mind truly

ph iloso phic, than h is coldness with regard to

truth . He used to say farthe r, that i f he had in

h is chest a paper o f ever so ho rrible a nature; os

pable o f dishonouring him fo r eve r in the eyes o f

po ste rity, he should no t g ive h imself any trouble

about burning it befo re h is death, prov ided he

could be secure that itwould ne ver come to light

during h is li fe . This sentiment. is no t natural.

Shame is one of the'

most powerfulfeelings of

manina state. of society, and he canas little , for

the mo stpart, bear the idea of its be ing attach edto h is name .

» after h is death , as that o f li vingunder the oppro brium o f it. I twas -the mo re ex

trao rdinary inthe month o f M. de -Fontenelle , as

h e was ex cess ively eage r for praise . He was not

s talld ifiicultas to the manner in wh ich'

itw as

o ffe red, o r as , to the pe rson from whom it came ,

and h owever strange such ananomaly may appear,one o f the mo st ingenious, the mo st epigrammatic

o f minds, amind evenfastid iously deli cate on the

sco re o f g allantry, could be flatteredand delightedwith the mostvapid and awkward compliments that

were lavi sh ed uponh im by a ce rtainset o f people .

Somebo dy saying to h im one day, I wish low li

mentyou, but I mustbe endowed with thej ine tum

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motene s s. AND Lxrsaaar 1 757

M. de Fontenelle , M. de LaMatte, and the Abbe

Terrassonmade these vast effo rts me rely to prove

the po verty, and misery o f a mind dead to allim

pressi ons o f sentiment. lt is a blind manwho Walks

onwith perfect confidence inthe dark, who go es

astray methodically, and whom each step conducts

into some mew e rro r. Wo e to th e nationlfi ever

its Fontenellets and LaMo tte’

s succeed intin-owingdown the statues o fHome r and Sophocles, of Ci;

cornand Vi rg il. Unde r what names willgeniuse ver be reve red onearth, i fno tunder the immo rtalones o f these greatmen.

I am mo re d isposed thanalmost any one to

o ve rlook those little blemi shes which are to be fri endinthe works of M. de Voltaire . and I consi de r h isB esoy enUniversalH istory as o f itself sufficientto

immo rtaliz e its autho r‘

i f he Were inwant o f anynew title to immo rtality. I cannot thenfo rbearasking how it is po ssible fo r so powe rfula genius tospeak insuch slighting terms o fHome r as he do es;at

’

the beg inning o f h is th ird volume, intreating of

the rev ivalo f letters inItaly. He giVes the pnefe

rence to the modems inalth o st every th ing ; h e

doe s no t hesitate to rank theOrlandO‘

Furioeo above.the Odyssey, and, what is stillmo re extrao rdinary,th e Gi erusalemme L iberata. of Tasso , above the ‘

Iliad . I f such ajudgmeh t had beengi ven by M.

de Fontenelle it would have passed unh eeded , no

one Would have been surpri z ed at it; butthat it

sh ould come from th e penof M. de Voltaire iswholly inconce ivable . I th ink I have elsewh ere te

1 757 traumas AND s arcomas.

marked thatth e modems have no t evencontrived”

the machinery of thei r epic po ems, that amid the

barratnass o f their inventi onthey have always had'

recourse to bo rrowing fromHomer , howlittle soever

such a mo delwas adapted to the subject they wereto treat. And evenif ourmode rnpo etswere bm d

with Home r’

s genius , stillhis poemmust be su

perio r to the irs, from the charm g ivento it by

the sheeting sublimity and simplicity of the man

ners h e paints . Alas ! if th is fathe r o f poe trywere

to reclaim from h is descendants allthat they have

bo rrowed from h im, what would remainto us of

th e Euel'

d , the Jerusalem Delivered, the OrlandoFurioso , the Lusiad, th e Heuris tic, or any thingelse o f the kind that could be mentioned .

February,I had th e honour o f announc ing to youa very

ridiculous tragedy wh ich bears the title o f the Lis

bon Earthquake , the autho r o f wh ich is a hair

dresser, by name Andre. Th is piece has thus far

been crowned with very great success that ithas

beensold ex ceedingly wellby the autho r. The ex

cessive absurd ity of the wo rk was its sure passpo rt

to success, but

’

tis much to be feared thatthe hemof all. the hair-d ressers willbe turned by it. A;wretched wit has just published The Hair -dressers

Encyclopediafor the use of allsorts of Heads ,bellished with

.

eng ravings, and dedicated to M 1 ,

d rd re'

,hai r-dresser, by one if his brethren.

.z

1m?

1“t mm Di d o r

onwillread with greatpleasure th e lette rs o f

ma'ronron. A ND Lm nanr 1 757‘

Miss Fanny Butler, to Lo rd.

Charles Alfred'

de'

,Caitombridge , writteninl73 5 , and suppo sed to be

translated from the English in1 756 by Adelai de de'

Varancai , in one volume , Svo . Th ey are the

letters o f a young womanto h er lo ver, ne ither of

whom, however, eve r ex isted inEngland . Th e

lette rs are‘

no t the less realones, no t intended for

the'

public but addressed to a favoured lover, as

may easily be seenby the warmth , the diso rder, the

extravagance o f them, by the naturaland o riginal

tone - that re igns th roughout. They a re notwith

standing very unequal; th e early lette rs, inparti

onlar,are no twrittenwith the same strength as the

I suspect thatmany o f themhave beenaltered in severalplaces fo r publication, pe rhaps because the autho r was afraid of be ing known Th is

g ives them a so rt o f desulto ry appearance wh ich di

mini shes the ir value ; had the same tone of frank

ness been prese rved th roughout, the collection

would have beencharming . Such as they are, you

willfind letters wh ich willaffo rd you the truest

pleasure .

The trade o f a panegyrist i s a bad one , and

oftenincompatible with th e duties o f aph ilosopher;The avo cationo f the latter is to diaplay th e truth

uponall occasi ons ' ia its utmo st fo rce and purity;

and he canno twithh old it from the publi c without:

d ish onouring h imself. The accusationconsequently“

wh ich I have broughtagainstM. de Voltai re with

regard to his Ag e of Louis the Fourteenth is very

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ntsro arca r. AND L I TE R ARY 1 757

and weaker nations , wh ich has so long rende red

the French name o dious inEuro pe ; to e x cuse , in

sho rt, so many th ings blameable inthe eyes o f th e

pltilosq rhe r, and wh ich h isto ry oughtnever to e x

cuse indeceasod so ve re igns, thatex isting ones maylearn to tremble fo r the ir memories . Louis the

Fourteenth was not sufi ciently enlightene d to playa part wo rthy o f h is age . The so rt o f e le vatio n

and love o f greatth ings wh ich pre vailed inhis cha

racter no t be ing supported by anenlarged and philo so ph icalmind , he was continually mistaking a

vainand empty pag eantry fo r realg reatness. Withh ow much ostentationdo es M. de Voltaire talk o f

th e pensions g ivenbyh im to fo re igne rs o f eminence

inscience and li te rature , from one end of Europe

to'

the o ther. Inth is munificence there is ce rtainlyanair o f grandeur, but it i s not o f thatkind whichought to daz zle th e eyes o f th e ph ilo so ph er. Whenwe conside r that Louis the Fourteenth had no t infact any just idea Of th e realme rit o f tho se who

we re thus recompensed by h im, the action is no

longer imputable to any th ing but ostentation, and

wholly lo ses its value . He would have beenmuchmo re really great had he endeavoured to allev iate

th e burdens o f his people , thanhe appears insending presents to fo re igners who se names are alreadyfo rgo tten and thus itwas thatHenry the Fourth

judged. A K ing truly greatand enlightened would

have endeavoured to draw illustrious fo re igne rs into

th e country, not only by h is beneficence , but still

mo re by allowing a perfect relig ioustoleration.

1 75 7 uz uoms AND anecno '

ru.

M. de Voltaire relates w ith a so rto f exnltationthe anecdote o fLouis the Fourteenth coming to the

‘

parliament in h is military bo o ts with h is wh ip inhis hand , to compelthe enreg istering- o i h is edi cts

but itwas th e duty o f a h isto rianstrongly to have

reprobated the indecency o f this action, notto have

reco rded it with app ro bation. I fo r my part cannot see any th ing like greatness in it; militarybo o ts are not be coming to kings, ex cepting at thehead o f the ir armies . I admire Henry the Fourth

much mo re whencarrying to the parliament his

ed icts fo r rais ing money, and obse rving onh is

coming outthat the people d id not cryVive le Roi ,

h e went home ex tremely sad , and said to h is cour

tie rs, They are notsati gfied with me, they sai d no

thing ; onwh ich h e immed iately returned to th e

parliamentand wi thdrew h is edicts , saying , I had

better g o w ithout money ,and see them satisfie d.

Such traits as the se do indeed merit be ing reco rded

inh isto ry ; th ey mayjustly draw tears from po ste

rity. Ne ithe r ought the vengeance ex e rcised by

Louis towards the republic o f Genoa to have been

passed o ver uncondemned by the h isto rian. i twas

a no ble source o f triumph fo r-so o th to oppress the

weak, who had no power o f resistance, and compel

them to steps wh ich reflectno di shonour butupon

the oppresso r,- up_

onone who could so misuse h is‘

power..

The arrivalo f the «log o o f Genoa, atVe r

sailles, appears to*me humiliating only to LOuisthe

Fourteenth; The celebrate dsay ing , o f the (loge on

th is occas ioni s knownto eve ry body. Jf he had

Q2

nun-rear:m 'urm ar 1 757

beenasked what he saw mo st petty inFrance , he

might have pointed at the King and said him.

Louis the Fourteenth d id not, infact, sustain

the lustre and glo ry of h is age, . und he was untoro

tuuate enough after having seen'

France at the

highest pi tch of glory, to wh ich he had no t con

tri buted by hi s genius, to see he rdecline , o fwhi ch he

was h imself the princi palcause . But itwas justthat

aMonarch ,who had shewnh imself proud beyond all

bounds , sh ould not d ie without being humiliated .

The epoch of the re vocationo f the Edict o fNnoted ,a moment fm'

e ver fatalto France , Was that o fthedecline o f the kingdom,

-itwas the tomb of pnhlic

prosper ity. The Great Men, in every branch of

science and learning disappeared , o r if any remained

itwas only-here and there a solitary one , like a

desolate tree o r plant ina so ilwh ich had long bee n

cultivated, but ona suddenbecame wholly neglected —they only bo re w itness to the fo rme r pro s

p erity of the country without being able to retrace

.the image of it.

M. de/

Voltaire -o ld have raised amonument

worthy of h imself if be'

b ed dared top re sentapicture

o f the Age of iLoui rthe Fourteenth under th is po int:o f View, and he Would s tillhave found sufli cientsubjects fo r panegyric and admiration.

,T he age in

whi ch lived'

a Oome ille,’

a Racine , atMoliére , a la

Fontaine, a Turenne , a‘ Condé,’ aColbert, cannotbut be fo r evermemorable. Ourhi sto riancarrie s

h is fatalindulgence into everything , fromthe -most

important sufi ehts' eveni to f'the mosh -trivial. ln

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H I STOR ICAL AND L ITER ARY 1 757

po table with‘

a'

ny one, it is w ith th is same Catholic

cle rgy who se principle s o f independence are so

much ino ppo siti onto th e leg itimate and so vere ign

power, and wh o are not connecte d with th e state

by any o f tho se swee t ties o f paternity, o r familyconnections , by wh ich nature hasunited the human

species and softened the ir manne rs.

' Notae ven'

the

fault committed by Loui s the Fourteenth; atthebeginning o f the war:o f .the success ion,against the

advice o f allh is Council, inacknowledg ing the

Pretende r as King o f England , is passed over byM . de -Voltaire wi thout anapolo gy. As a politi

cianh e ough t to have obse rved that th is was -the

mo st foolish step Louis could have takenat:that

time — as a ph ilo soph er he ought to have felt the

ridiculous and empty insult thus shewnto a free

nation, in th inking o f impo s ing upon i t a K ingwhom it had legitimately rejected, and that byalmo stunanimous consent.

I

May, 1767 .

The day that,M . Séguier took his seat at~ the

French Academy inthe place o fM. dc Fontcnellc,t he PresidentHénaultpro duced a Dissertationto

enquire :Way the French languag ewas mace chaste

thanthe Latin -,I t was though t a very absurd

pe rfo rmance bo th as to the subje ctand th e mannerinwhich itwas treated ; buttho most curious part.of the sto ry was, that inad issertationcomposed

1 757'

Mamoms AND auacno '

ras .

e x pressly to decide th is impo rtant question, no doci s ionwas made uponit.

Y ouwillread inthe second volume o fM. de

Voltai re’

s E8803] on UniversalH istory, that the

vene rable Councilo f Constance was ve ry reluctantto condemn the pious doctrine o f th e CordelierJeanPeti t on the subject o f assassination. Th is

holv father maintains"

thatassassinationi s a me ri

to rions wo rk, mo re inthe hand s of a Knightthan

o f a Squire , o f a Prince thano f a Knight. Acco rd

ing to these princ iples h e who nssass iuates tr iflingis

'

anelect o f th e firsto rder the Je suit, G‘

nignard,’

was hung fo r ente rtaining the same p rinciples;But could the punishment o f such a

'

miserable

wretch compensate a lo ss like that o f Henry the

Fourth thi:Parliamentought to have broke JeanPeti twith h is thes is uponthe wheel the go ve rnment ought to ex tirpate eve ry one whose doctrine s

upon’

th is subjectare me rely suspected . -A “Prelateh ighly respected fo r the purity o f h is mo rals, the

Bisho p of So issons, has appo sed th is abominable

do ctrine w ith the utmostv igour, ina charge to h isclergy . Never was a charge published that had a.

mo re ex tensive ci rculation; it has beencried about

the stre ets as the Fine Charg e of the BwhoqSam . I t 18 said that the Jesuits are s ingularly

mo rtified at i t. The following passage is more

parti cularly admirable. Friends o r enemie s,t‘ Ch ristians o r Infidels, Catholi cs or Schismatics,Heretics o r Pagans , allare our brethren; we;

msm wanurnnuns“ ”57

oughtto che ri sh then] , and we only wish the i rhappine ss .

”I f the Catholic Clergy could ey er

practice th is doc trine . w ith heart and soul, there

would be a greatd iminutiono f crime s and hono rs

upon:the earth . We ought to .put up . our ardent

praye rs thatthe hearts o f allthe violates inFrancemay

-.lncmne as po rc as that o f the -Bisho p o f So is~

sons;

v Iu«cousultiug . the h isto ry o f all-ages one easilysees .thAt the two occupations to wh ich mankind in

generalare the most add icted are wat end politics ;ormothe r ,

words, as theymay be called w i th great

proprietyf the,sciences -of destroy ing, and of do?

eeih ing e ach o ther. so illgi ving to thascieneeoflpoliticsmll. the ex tentaud jdignitywhich itmeritsfrom ~tho . ohjecta wh ich it includes, namely the

happines s and pro spe rity of the people i t must beacknowledged that very little pr

ogress has beenmade init, and that awisc, just, and enlightened

go vernment, willnever be any thing buta brilliantch imera. I hate sometimes compared the scienceo f poli tics, with

”

that o f medicine ; they appear to

be the two sciences the mo st'

neceasary to .

the sop-z

port o f so ciety, and they are notwithstanding ”cisely those

'

wh ich restuponthe lent certainbasin.wh ich have made th e “least considerable advances

towards perfection. Th is reflectionwould appear

a very -melancholy one without the consolation

thatwe derive' from experience . From that we

learnthatnations who are not inpossessionof any

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m '

romcu, AND a tw av 1 757

them, the v'

nlgar do no t see themt o r do no tknow

the remedies that ought to be applied . A person

is borna physic iano r a state smanas he is bo rnin

painter o r a po e t, that is to say, he comes into th e

wo rld with thatsagacity wh ich :leads him to pene

trate the secrets of nature o r o f o the heart o fman,

to d isco ver the analog ies and'

d issonances o f wh ich

bo th are composed, and'

to d raw ce rtainresnlts

from them short into the most intricate

tnrnings. and wind ings'

o i'

nature vantlo f man. To

this naturalaptitude must be snbjolned th e ~ardo r‘

necessaryj nthem éz case fo r acqniring a pro found

knowledge-

o f -th ings connected .w ith the -medi cal

science , inthe o the r fo r acqui ring precise notionsconcerning the strength; the .wents , ehe resourceso f th e body politic . lt ois-trne , foa

‘the misfortune

of ihnman’natnre , that great‘menine ithe r o fi the se'

lines -fire mreyscarc'

ely d oes a century produce-me

ineach; and . th is istthe -very reasonwhv both mo st:

alwai s remain‘

so impe rfect. How few physicians

o f veryd istinguished eminence have appeared from

Hippocrates to . Bo e rhaave , and who chnbenamed ‘

as legi slato rs after Solonand LycnrgnsP- I i:these

princ iples be just, it must he . acknowledged that

our makers o f books lo se the i r time egregi onolywhen‘they endeavour to teach m,bythe ir reasoning ;

anartwh ich requires great'

talents, and does notadmit e ither of meth od o r generalprinciples .

Let us aband onmedicine; and occupy ow

selves for the -remainder o f th is disquisition-

solely

with politics .

' Ex cellent works may no doubt be

1 757“traumas AN’D “som e.

written'npdneach separate department of go ve i’n

ment'

anath e laws, and ;npon the interio r admi

hi strati on' ot'

a government ; but to g i ve general

lessons i s lmbe ignorant that the secaet of be ing a

statesmmr a hoe which canno t he might, it canonly?he adqni red by the

‘judgment and Ex perience‘

o i imfividoals'

a Ib i s from th e study o f h istdny, and

o fznegooltaions; frbnt attentionto public}bdsine ss ,thatatptthlaicfnian-ntnst draw the knotirlédge

’ne'

ces o

sary to his sitaatfiem His business wo hld be 'Cnri i

onslycxe cuterlif he had recourse o o fy to’the ele

m'

entary'

works o f certain’

eo ic‘

lminds'Wh ich cad

gi ve nmh inlg bnt false ideas, and lead to noth ihgbutmaking mnumbe r o f disastrotts ex periments?(h r ali generaf principles must be ve ry aagbe, andthe nunih er o ftimes thatthe rule g ivenwill

'stand

ins) terrymode sty be less

'

thanthe ex cerit’

ibns id

iti.“ who lmbi vs how to asks ajhsiapplicationof it to the sithationid Which hé‘iihMassi f; ’wottld certainly have had 'no occasidntoSeek; thepi'inéip

lé itself ih such booksas those in

qn-

eéw of , J . 3. i a i

Iants had the Honour o f dre iiti o riing to youthe workuponthe‘Principles ofNeg ocidlionwh ichthe 1Ablié’flt:Mttb

'

iy pubih hed not‘

long ago . The

governm’chtHits 1 16“doubt beenmuch to lame m

takingW tthe noble freedom with wz

ich th'

e

'

anthb'

r'

g i‘vék

'

hih'

opin‘ions

'

uponsome transactions ofthe1 present:iii oment.

“It is a fatalprinciple inamtésibad 'tb dt of endeavouring to

'

put acart;uponthought;

”this tsOne of th ese general

'

Uu l

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nume ra l. A ND L ITER A RY 1758

tweenthem .and th e House of Bourbon, th anin

humbling vthe pride of. the nobles, and strengthen

“

i ag the autho ri ty o f the King , (wh ich had so longbeentotte ring) over allthe o rders o f .the state .

From this moment France no longer employingh er powers intearing he rself to pieces, mustne ce s

sarily become th e predominant power o f Euro pe,wi thout th e House of Austria having committed .

the least-fault, e ither in i ts reasonings o r in its

conduct. Th is is the fact—We shallfind still

mo re false reasoning uponthe conduct o f Charles

th e Second o f England. It would be a singular

means to adapt fo r domineering o ver our allies to

unite ourselves with our naturalenemies ino rderto oppress them. One i dea whollynew to me, but

pe rhaps jnst, I have found in th is wo rk ; th is is ,

that it i s no t fo r the intere st o f .Spain to be the

ally o f France . But since th is is contrary to the

e x isting system, and to the commonly rece i ved

Opinion, it ought to have beenmo re fully“

investi

gated, -and established uponmo re solid pro o fs .

Jilly. 17580

A wo rk has just appeared wh ich has made a

great no ise , and deserved to do so by the impor

tance o f th e subj ect. It is entitled The Fri end qfMan, ar e Treatise onPopulation; and contains an

apology fo r agriculture againstthe luxury and 0p.

pressiono f a go ve rnmentlittle enlightene d as to its

true interests. The author o f th is wo rk, whi ch is ex .

tended to 3 vols. 4to . is the Marquis de Mirabeau,

1 758 MEMOIRS A ND anecno '

res . 239

aProvencal. Although young , he has quitted theservice some time , pro bably from private d iscou

tent; he is the grandsonof a manwho o ffended

Loui s the Fourteenth ex tremely. Whenthe cere

mony o f ded icating the Place des V'

rétoires and the

pedestrianstatue o f the King was to take placethat statue e rected by the .adnlationo f the Duke

de la Feuillade , and rende re d rid iculous by the ex

travagant eulogiums inscribed on it, equally in

oppo sitionto the true greatness of a hero ,‘

aud the

noble libe rty o f the citizen— whcnth is ceremony,I say, was to take place , a reg iment o f th e guards

was o rdered to assist at it. M. de Mirabeaur whohad a company inthe reg iment, was go ing to his

appo inted station, at‘the head o f h is tro o p , when,

passing o ver th e Pout-Neuf, he made allthe menstop be fo re the statue o f Henry th e Fourth , and,addressing them. said , ili g f ri ends, letus salute

him, he is wellworth any other .

" This was

i ll-cho senmoment to pay such a tribute to th e

great and go o d Henry: it di spleased the King so

much , thatM. de Mirabeauwas o rdered to res ign

h is company. In complying w ith th is o rde r, he

only des ired to g ive h is resignationinto the King'

s

ownhands ; when, presenting it, he said , Sire ,“' I have the honour o f thanking your Maiesty,that, after having se rved youfo r fo rty years, you

are pleased entirely to d ispense with my havingany feelings of g ratitud e .

"

Such was the g randfather repo rted to have

been. Letus now advertagainto the work o f the

nts'ro arcar. AND,

L I TERA RY 1 758

g randson. The bold strain inwh ich it is written

has acquired it a very h igh reputation, which has

beenno t a little increased by the imprudence o f

the government in ordering it to be suppressed .

To gi ve anidea o f the work ina fewwo rd s, lmaysay that th e autho r would have erected h imself a

no ble monument, if he had beenable to write with

g randeur and .elevationo f stile.

The seventh volume o f the Encyclomed ia appe ered about a mouth ago . I t w illnot d iminish

the reputation o f the wo rk ; fe w wo rks e ve r had

equalsuccess : the numbe r o f subscribers i s alreadyincreased to four thousand . The animosity o f the

enemie s to the Encyclo pe d ia, and its enemies are

no tfew innumber, is consequently redoubled . Re

ports are circulated, pamphlets are written, allthe

most od ious and absurd imputations that i t canbe

charged with,are rece ived with transpo rt and avi

d ity, and circulated assi duously. But eventhose

pamphlets whi ch are mo st g ratifying to the public

malignity di e away at the end of aweek or tendays,wh ile the wo rk remains. A new pamphle t has justappeared against the Eneyclopeed ists, entitled Me

is repo rted to be the productiono f a Jesuit. I f

the author had as much imaginationas he has ma

liguity, and desire o f injuring , he would be a very

fo rmidable enemy. His aim is to prove thatMes

s ieurs do Montesquieu, de Voltai re , dc Bufl'

on, d’

A

lembert, Didemt, and Rousseau, entertainprinci o'

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moroni c“. arm m am a:

through the medium of the celebrated Bernard,Duke o f:We imar. Th e eaample of the King o f

Prussia ought to convince us mo re thanever, that

every th ing great and solid achie ved inmilitaryoperations, has

“its source inthe perfept disciplineof the tro o ps : allelse i s false and fleeting , and

sh ines butwi th a transientlustre .

w To these lib rar ies is prefiried a SJretch of the[4

'

b MarshalSame, which not only contains a

great many blunders, but is writtenina style Sin

gularly Batand dull.”I t i s a great reproach to tho

bo oksellers that so splendid anedi tion‘of the work

is d isfigured by ah istory‘

so little wo rthy o f the hero

to whom it relates . Th is has not prevented -the

Abbe Pe rau’

s boldly-

putting hi s name ia the title .

I tmust surely be ve ry-much astonished to find it

self side by s ide with that o f MarshalSa‘x e. Th is

illustr io d s wa\

rrio r,‘

placed be tween the time s of

Charles‘

the Twelfth of Swedenand Frederick the

Second of Prussia, was the mano f allEurope who ,

during thi s interval,‘

best merited to be h anded

downto posterity by the peno f M. de’

Voltairé.‘

He was one of the handsomest menof his time ;to a majestic figure be united features that hadsometh ing in them altogether g rand and noble ,with perfect sweetness and simplicity o f ex pre ssion

Among h is g reatest qualities are to be reckoned:

anunshaken resolution, and anunalterable tram

quillitynfmiud -wh ich neve rfo rsook h im. Duringthat admirable . campaign o f Courtrai , ia

' 1 744 :

which has since beenconsidered as amaster-p iece s

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946 ursr o arcs r. A ND mu rmur 1 753

the sentimentwas evencarried so far, thath enevermeollected “distinctly, fo r any length o f time after,the details of h ismostb rilliantacti ons . He treated

the inas We treat the o rd inary, every-day trausse

tions'

of our lives ; the events of wh ich , little re

markable, leave nop e rmanentimpressions uponthe

memory. Inthe visits wh ich he made to Berlin;

in1 749 , whenthe King of Prussia questioned him

boncerh i og hi s cani paigns inFland ers, he appeared

better instructed inthe details o f th em thanthe

Marshalwas h imself. lThe high estirmtioninwhich

he was held by Frederick constitutes at present

one o f hi s g reatest eulogiums.

The Marshalloved pleasure to ex cess . He

wandwhat is called fine co rnpany dull, h e d id riotfrequent it; and th is h e beenmade ‘

a heavy accu

sationagainst h im. Those wh o knew h im consi

dered it as proceed ing fi oma certainhaughtiuessof mind . He never ceased to entertainprojects ofi ov

‘

ereignty and independence ;'

and h is lofty soul,not being ahie tb exactfrom th e world that degree

o f respectwhich is considered as due onlyto prine esand sovere igns, was obliged to seek

-it among sub s

Salte rns inh is profession, and Womeu‘

of pleasure .

Fo r the rest, he had'

great goodness of heurt, great

simplicity o f manne rs,*

and was mild and modest

in'

bi e department. 80 many good qualities wereh owever not unmingled

'

with 'defects. One o f the

greatest he had was that o f not believing in'the

e x istence o f vi rtue or o f honest ‘meu. i t was

W ag to th is terrible prejud ice that he was so

1 758 ransom AND mmno rn. 247

ofiensurroundedwith sooundrels who tarnished his

Nex t to M. de Voltaire, I do no t know anyliving autho r who writes h istory better thanthe

King o f Prussia. A continuationo f theMemoirs

q'

the House cf B randenburg has just beenpublithed, wh ich contains the life o f the late King . I t

is a robbery from the aagnst author o f these Me

mo ire. Those who se intimacy with the monarch

enable them to decide uponhis productions, saythat it is very much mangled . I t is writteninarapid style , and g ives a very fine picture of the

aflairs of Europe. The only th ing to be wisbed

fo r, and this apparently i s whathas beenmangled,is greater amplitude insome o f the details, parti

cularly inallthat relates to the interior govern

ment o f a power, the suddenaggraud isement of

which bo rders ona prodigy. Th is work willaflord

you great pleasure ; youwillfind many striking

passages, and some really afl'

ectmg .

M.Nicol,Deano f the RoyalAcademy o£Sci

ences, is just dead, at a very advanced age . He

was anex cellent geometrician, and as such held

fo r awhile, inconjuncti onwith M. de Mairan, thefirst rank in

,

the Academy; though both have since

beeneclipsed by Mesm Fontaine , Clai raut, andd’

Alembert. The first, who lives inthe country,

and rarely comes to Paris, i s considered by 80041

R 4

HI STOR I CA L Al") LITERARY

judges, ,as the ablestgeometricianinth e kingdom

hiswo rks bespeak ag reatgenius, and those to whom

h e i s knownhave no d ifficulty inpersuading them

selves that he is so . He is a manof a very acute

and ori g inalturno f‘mind, combining great pene

trationwith the mostperfect simplicity . One dayth e Abbé Nolletwas read ing inthe Academy alongtedious so rt o f tariff of the prices o f various com

mod ities ; M. Fontaine, wearied to death with the

length to wh ich it was spun out, said : This man

Moms the value qf every thing , ex cept time . I f th is

remark had beenutte red atAthens , Plutarch would

not have failed to hand it down to po sterity .

M. Clai raut, while yet a ch ild, had a h igh reputa

tionfo r geometry, whi ch he has not since falsi fie d .

M . d’

Alembert, withouthaving invented any th ingnew,

has the reputationof putting greatprecisionand clearne ss, comb ined With great elegance, ll] hi s

geometricalworks . These th ree young geometrie iaus have entirely obliterated th e remembrance of

allo th ers, evenofM. de Maupe rtuis . He, though

one of the first disciples o f Newton inFrance , '

never could rise above med io crity.

I t is said that theKing, with a v iew to encon

rag ing talents, has'

o rdered that any dramatic au

tho r, who se writings shallbe e x tremely successful,

shallfor th e first piece b e presented to h im,fo r

the :second he shallhave a gold medal, and fo r the

thi rd shallhave a pension. I f this arrangement

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ars'

romcu. AND Lm uar 1758

bee nadded to th is pamphlet, to serve as anillus

trationof it.

April, 1758.

A wo rkhas beenpublished thi swinte r, atGene va, entitled PoliticalAnnals , by the Abbe

’

dc St.

Pierre, anautho r already wellknowxi fi'

om nume

rous writings, and stillmore from his practicalphi

low phy, his benevolence and h is goodness of heart.

Though these Annals are not very popular inour

g reatworld, I do not doubtbutyouwillread themwith pleasure, and find them as g reatly instructive

as they are little b rilliant. Go od-sense is a pre

cious quality ina writer ; and, i f it be united witha smallpo rtionof ph ilosophy, it is tentimes mo re

estimable thanthose flash es o f genius, after wh ich

we runwith so much ardour. Not that the Abbe

de St. Pierre’

s work i s wholly devo id of these ;

there are many passw writtenwith great elo

quence, inparticular the po rtrait of the Chancello r

Le Tellie r.As the judgments wh ich our autho r passes

uponmenand things are commonly veryjust, andas h e po ssesses ina hig h degree the arto f engagingthe confidence o f his reade rs, it is proper to ana

lyse some o f h is observations which appear to be

defecti ve injustness. The reflections, inparticu

lar, Which he makes uponthe adventure of the

Count d ’

Estrades, ambm ador o f France to Lon

don, with the ambassador o f Spain, M. c atte

175 8 traumas AND ANECDOTES.

ville, are these o f a good man; butwe mustno t

let our mildness make us fo rget allconsid erationo f th e d ignity that ough t to be maintained be

tweencrowned heads . The fact, as stated by h im,

is well known. The co achman of the Countd'

Estrades was beaten, and th e traces of h is horses

cut, by'

M. deWattsville’

s people, onthe Count'

s

public entry into Londonas ambassado r, in1 662.

“He re,”says our auth o r, was

'damage done to“the amount of a hundred francs ; butwas thisKing of France less esteemed , lessfeared , held

“inless consi derationamong oth er powe rs , fo r th%

phrenzy o f M. deWatteville l—lf the latter was

a madman, if the C ount d’

Estrades was pi qued ,mustFrance b e put to anex pense of a hundred

millions of money, and7must the lives hf th irty

thousand h fenbe sacrificed to unpi quc the’Count

and rape}th e traces of h is ho rses —Or i f theKili g of Spainwas not to make an

“apology, must the King of France be unjust

enough to take vengeance at such a price

Th is i s very false reasoning ; Undoubtedly the

K ing o f France would have beenless esteemed ,

less feared , held inless consi deration, if he had

pati ently sat downunder the damage done'

to the

amount of ahundred francs . I t is of the greatest

importance to a pri vate personnot to pass ov’

e r

the least insult. Tho se by wh om it is ofiemd, and

those t witness it, willsoonmake th e ir advantage

‘ bf th is patience ; and, for want of alittle

resblutioninthe i i i-i t instance , he ex pose s h imself

352 m sro arcu. AND. L I TER A R Y 1 758

to greater insults and g reater v iolence .-Kings are

inth is re spe ct precisely inthe same situation as

priVate pe rsons -long fo rbearance appertains to

God alone . I f Louis the Fourteenth had shown

awsat o f“firmness onth is occasion, he would soon

have beendespised by h is enemies , and neglectedbyh is friends . Every oue

i

would have th ought that

th ey migh tattack h im and insult h im w ith impu

mity; and they would have bad reasonto think so .

He would have betrayed weakness, and people

would have beenwellaware that they.

might do

any th ing with a weak man— instead o f th is theyare sensible that they must take care how they

conduct themselves towards a man o f resolution.

Th e ruin o r the prese rvationo f a State may oftendepend uponth e greater o r less attentionshowntothese apparently trifling ci rcumstances.

I conceive that ourministry committed agreat

faultnotlong since inth e affair of Maudrin. I f

it be true that the King o f Sardlma. had beenre

quired invainto deli ve rup thatscoundrelto whomanasylum was so indecently g iveninh is country,a bo dy o f fifty o r ahundred thousand menough tto

have beensent, withoutany ceremony, to sei z e him.

Instead o f thi s a party was di spatched to carry

h im o ff secretly ; we v iolated the territo ry o f.

an

independent sove re ign, and we have been obligedto send anex trao rd inary embassy to make apolo

g ies. But,”ourAbbe would oughtFrance

to have lavished a hundred millions o f mone yand th i rty thousand menuponamiserable

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m olten. sunmutant

to the soul, I mourned the . caprice of the b lind

de ity thenitwas that thy. friendship , thy tender

ness. that constant go odness which interested itselfinmy s omows, recalled my resoluti on, and made

me “hauled o f my weakness. said -I ,“is allthat show, allthat, pomp, which I negret,

wo rth the smallest particle of. the . friendship la“wished uponme by so gsnenous a bosom?

”

Y es. my dear Argental, itwas youthat consoledme. it was youthat compensated to me allmylo sses ; but what canever console me for. havinglo styoui

— th is is a.misfortune that do es . no t’ ad~

mi t of consolation. I seem no t to have live d asingle moment since I qui tted you.

To complete my. misfo rtune , 1 am shut. up ina

,melancholy .castle ,—with what.sodaylgoodb ea»

semi s—two superannuated old women, whom the.

fates. inamoment of fo rgetfulness. have h i t solodg inthe world. Inthis spec ies o f interment

are my sad days consumed . Do youno t unw i nd

allthe ho rro rs o f my s ituati on? I see my Celianolonger, and I am separated fromyou. Some d is

sipationatleastwas requisite to banish the cruel

reflections which follow me everywhe re ; but duty,

and th e rules of that troublesome th ing called de

corum,deminme in this mo st deplo rable o f all?

abodes. [sce nothing bnt wrinkleg spectacles,

and the breviary of our priest, au'asthmaticky old .

man, who has yet some remains o f . having beena .

jolly fellow, I canno t paintxo you, in. coloni s at ificiently exp ressive , our evening aftes:supperr and.

1 758 muons sun summons.

the place wh ere these sittings are held. It is a

large salo on, which is contemplated by the ownerswith profound vene rationas a proo f of nobility ; asingle lamp illuminate s it, which permits us onlyto have a confused glimpse o f the Nativity of our

Sw iour, and the Judgwu

-nt qf'

Par is , two pieces of

tapestry humo rously associated together as the de

co rations o f the walls. The oddness of the com

binationalways makes me laugh ; and th is laugh,which i s conside red by the two old ladies as a

mark o f contempt, draws uponme a to rrent ofabuse from them.

~

I answer with the deepest hu

mility, hoping thatunde r favour o f the darkness I

may be able to sleep away the time ; but the im

po rtant questions put to me , and the incessant re.capitulationo f my faults, wh ich is anever-failingpart of the evening

’

s amusement, keep me awake,ahd putme atlast so out o f tempe r, thatwh enit

comes to a separationfor the night, we do outputwith the kindestlooks possible ateach other.

Such is the place I inhabit, such.

the pe rsonsto whose society I am condemned ; and I amnevertheless told , that I oug htnot to quit the spot, and

abandonmy family.,The names o f country and

relationsh ip are phantoms very generally adored,

butletus acknowledge that th ere is no smalllde

gree of folly inthese prqiudices. What? if lhadchanced to beborninthe fro z enregions o f Scythia,must I have beencompelled to pass my life inso

horrible anabode i—zMust I, insp ite of the furionswinds, of the wintry storms, have preferred my

HlBTORI CAL AND m w ar 17538

dreary country to allthe lo veliest spo ts inthe universe ? -

;No fo r my part, I abandonth is illustriousmania to th e lo fty souls o f antiquity.

—And yet, if

the thing mo re closely, we shallfind

that it i s a sentimentwhich many of them exalted

mo re inthe ir wo rds thanby the ir practice . That

mo delo f wi sdom, that sage h ero , whom the good

Home r, is always pre senting to us roaming h ith erand thither insearch o f his solitary island , was yet

not insuch haste to reach this ch erished spot, but

that itwas -fo rg o ttenamid the fascinations o f Os

lypso and o f Circe . Blesse d inthe ir society, th e

sacred names, the solemn ties o f country and o f

citi z enwere thought o fno mo re — nay, inspite ,

o f

th is boasted lo ve o f h is native so il, inspite o f that1li vely and constant desire to be restored to it, wh ich

rendered Ithacaalways so pre sent to h i smind, - in

spite'

of the se th ings, he had the address, after,

Troy was vanqui shed by Greece, to pass the latter,

years of hi s youth inthe arms o f many a de ity ,

under the specious veil o f sad necessity. Whatingenuityl

—what dex terity l—how happy a guide

is wisdom l— Atlength , whenhi s powerS sbeganto .

decay, and he was deprived o f allfshther h0pe of

pleas ing, h e'

returned to h is own c ountry, s ince

nothing better remained fo r h im: Fo r my. part,

the'

lo ve fo rmy country ,wh ich is so much vaunted,is a th ing wh ich I ’

canno t, no r e ver shall; final.

Do not show this le tter, and above allth ing s ;do not '

ouany accountlet i t go out. o f your. own.

hands : youcannot d istress me mo re thanhyao

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HI STORI CAL.

AND LI TERARY

The (bngress of Cytli era is awellknown.Jeur

d’

Espr it o f the Count Algaretti . It has just been

translated into French , by a lady, as it is said, who

does no t cho se to be known.

"

The following is the

abstract o f ttas g ivenbyM. Did e rot.

No one knew whatwas become of the God

o f Lo ve .—He ,

was shutup inh is temple , medita

ting uponthe discred it iuto which his empire was

beg inning to fall. By h is side was Voluptuous

ness'

, who was ina languish ing state, wh ile the

Spo rts and the Smiles fluttered only one wing, and

the Graces we re growing sad . Whatto do he knewno t. Voluptuousness

’

counselled him to info rm

h imself th o roughly upon the whole ex tent of the

illbe fore he th ough to f remedying it. The God of

Lo ve appro ved the counsel, and th ree young Loves

were instantly d ispatched, the one to France, wherehe was inamoment ; a second to England, whe re

the po or little creature was ingreatdange ro fdy ingof th e vapours , aud be iug sufio cawd with the smoke ;th e th ird to the route o f . Italy, where he

A

paused at

every. step, such numbe rs'

of beautiful th ings d idhe find to admire . They allhowever arrived at

their destinations, and retue bring ing with themthree womeneach perfectly instructed inthe state

of amo rous cohcerns in. the ir respective scriml

The j ourney of the Freuchwoman was

thei rmovements . The Englishwomanhad fits ofispleenby the way wh ich retarded her verymuch

1758 narrow s AND anz cno '

ras . 959

the I talianwomanwould only travelbynight somuch was she

'

afraid o f be ing watched . The Godo f Lo ve ex pected th e ir arrivalwith impatience ;at length th eywe re pre sented befo re h im.

1 TheyWere info rmed of the reasonswhy the irpresence

was requested ; allthree began to speak at once .

The . qui ver was taken from one o f the Lo ves ;

three tickets were put into it, the youngestof t he

Graces drew one , - it Was the Englishwoman'

s,

sh e d rew again, itwas thato f the Frenchwoman;v—rthat of'

the I talian‘remained at the bottom o f the

quive r. Th ey spoke inthis o rde r.

The Engli shwotnansai d, in a‘

few wo rds,

that love -was unknown i h -h er country ; -that d i e

men, fierce and brutal, passed th e i rlives inthree

so rts o f' stupid ity,—with wine, w ith prostitute s) gr

with politics —The Frenchwo rnan said that he;

couritry w‘as the most charming country - ih -the

wo rld that they d id noth ing -but lo ve there frommorning to night, and -oflhred more sacrifices ia-one

day to the De ity they ado re , thanare offe re d a}a

year inallthe o the rfconnt'ries o f the globe .

' In

this happycountry, sh e said, tenderne ss -was reduced

to it s value , they had pleasure there without

pain, and lovers withciut any conse quenbe s. That

indeed the lovers were no tthe most discreet inthe

world, and were apt~to ¢m1k a little , but itwas no

longer the fash ionto blush at its -All this, she

pro ceeded , was ve ry well,‘

and they mightbelie veher, because she bad taste , indeed, to speak with

Math ew-

she di d not-"

know-any body who had so

8 a

m sronrcu. AND mu rmur 11756

much . The Go d o f Love , sh e said, insho rthadno th ing be tter to d o thanto establish French gal

»lantry over th e Whole globe ,and to pr0po se he ras a

mo delto allwomen, because she might venture to

say, without vanity, that he would find it much

easie r to propo se wo rse thanbette r.—The Italian

woman complained o f the oddness o f peo ple inhercountry, wh o were neverth eless, as sh e belie s'ed,

'not destitute o f re sources . She afte rwards launched‘into invectives againstthe pleasures o f the senses,and began with allher eloquence to preach the

charms o f Platonic lo ve .

Although she spoke like an angel, and

oftencited Petrarch,wh o fo r twenty years had

sung and loved MadamLaurawith alldue honour'

and deco rum, andweptand sung h er twenty mo re ,

the Go d o f Lo ve couldnot fo rbear yawning , wh ile‘

th e Frenchwoman burst into a fit of laughter.

The Italianthenunde rsto od that sh e had spoke'

long enough , and was silent. The God immed i

ately ro se from h is throne , and wh ispered a word

-to Voluptuousness, wh en she pronounced the . fol?

lowing judgment —That inEngland th ey should,w ith out d elay, beginto lo ve ; not:h owever make

ing to o serious an affair o f i tz—that in. Francea little mo re impo rtance sh ould be attach ed w i t;and that in‘

ltaly theywould do wellto spirituali z e

i t somewhat less . She added many o ther fine

th ings, inth e midst o f whi ch the Go d o f Lo ve

d isappeared , and the th ree women quitted the

temple . They each found lovers inthe vestibule.

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262 nmro arcans unL ITERA RY 4758

atranslationo f th is .nov el, just publi shed in.Hol

land, .to that o f th e Abbe Provost : .The Holland

publication, th ough writtenin a style inmany

places very barbarous, has at least the merit o f

be ing a faithfultranslation. lt remains i fo r 'me to

d iscuss the novel itself, and the genius o f Mr.

R ichardson, the authp rp f these prod ig ious wo rks ;but th isfwillaflf

'

o rd matte r fo r future pageS.'

The re

are few modernwo rks wh ich d isplay so mnch truegenius as th e no vels o f Pamela, Clarissa, and Sir

Charles Grandi son.

M. Helvetius, sonto the Queens first physician, amanwho has already obtained some reputation, has just published a large volume m «i tc

entitled The M ind. Th is -wo rk has occasioned a

g reat commoti onamong the public ; th e de vout,and the pe ople of the greatworld, equally e x claim

against it; and ith as beensuppressed, by a decree

of hisMajesty’

s Councilof State, as -scandalous,licenti

i

ous and dangerous. The autho r, who‘

fills

th e place o f M e to the Queen, hasbeeno bliged publicly to retract his opini ons. Thiswas done . inaletter addressed to a Jesuit; butth isretractati onnotappearing sufi e ient, he was madeto signa second, ed humiliating , that one should

no t .have been surpri sed to see amantake re fuge

among the Ho ttento ts, rather th‘

an'submit to makesuch acknowledgments . Here is . a ti de pie ce of

wo rk. I know notwhether any literary glo ryc an4 665 06 to commnsate allthe d isagreeable conse

mmo ras AND ax scno ras. 963

queuces the author,has experi enced fromh is publi

cation; it appears to me, however, that those wh o

judge the mo st favourably of it, though they may'

allow i tmerit in'

many respects,re fuse it the most

precious quality thatawork'

Canhave- gehius.3

M . Bouguer, o f the'RoyalAcaderny of Sci

”

age . Th is wh o

mano f d

her who were some

the two ex tremities o f the glo be , inante? th tried,

sure some degrees ; anente rprise Wh ich was cold

b rated by alldescriptidns of people , and w i th

fact o f no realuse whatever. M. Bougue r tra

velled to the South with M. de la Condamine and

others, w ith wh om h e afterwards had long and

obstinate quarrels .

I mentioned , ona fo rmer o ccasion, thatM.

d'

Alenibert had inse rted inthe seventh volume of

th e Encyclope diaanarticle respecting th eRepublico f Gene va, which made a great no ise . Inthe

midst o f'

th e'

prai ses g iven, with reason, to many o f

the institutions of‘

thi s little state, h e considers

Socinianism“

as the prevailing principle among the

mini sters of religion. I t is notwith the intention

of injuring th em, o r g iving them pain, that he has

made th is e x traordmarytassertion; on the con- r

S 4

moroni c“. AND Lr'

rnaaar 1 758

trary , it is very obvi ous that he means to do ho ~

h our to the partisans o f naturalreli g ion, by show

ing that so w ise and enli ghtened a body as the

Gene vese cle rgy hold doctrines appro ach ing so nearto the dogmas o f a pure and rationalmo de o f faith .

Th is z eal is very singular. We are no t accus

towed to find inph ilo so phers a z ealso apo stolic ;

and intolerant philo sophers me rit no mo re indul

gence thanpe rsecuting devo tee s . The clergy o f

Geneva have conducted themselve s on th is occa

sionw ith g reat prudence ; they have o ppo sed to

M. d Alembe rt’

s article , a Declaration, d rawnupw ith great wisdom, d ignity and mo deration. Ishallonlyremark, by the way, thatwe canno t, no roughtno t, to judge th e opinions of any set o f men

as a bo dy, but-by the ir statutes and regulations ;and, inmatte rs o f relig ion, by thei r symbolic bo oks,never by the Op inions o f any individualamongthem. WhenI say thatsuch a one is aProtestant,I do not meanto assert that he follows implicitly

the doctrine s of Luthe r, o r ofCalv in, butme relythat he belongs e xternally to the communiono f

such o r such a sect ; one canno t, insho rt,W ina public way o f the relig ious Opinions o f any indi

v idualwithout imprudence and injustice .

But ib is 18 no t the only extraord inarypart of

.the article inquestion. Among o ther things, M.

;dIAlembe rt recommends to the republic the esta

b lishment of'

a theatre , and d ilates much uponthead’

vanmges that would be der i ved frmnit with re

spect to the taste and manners, not o f the town

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m s'

ro arcar. AND LITERA RY 1 758

enchantment o f his style and the mag ic o f h is co

Pouring , h e willneve r'

convince ; because, after all,there is noth ing but truth that canconvince . We

are always tempted to say,that it i. veryfine , but

ais verfyfalse .

‘Alth ough the new work of M. Rousseau, o f

wh ich we are speaking , appears to me d iffuse ,

languid, and inmany place s evenflat,‘I do 'not

doubt but that you will read - it w ith pleasure”though at the conclusionyouwill

'

be surprised to

find that h e has no t e ffected any change inyour

sentiments uponany subje ct. Inthe manne r wh ichM. Rousseau treats th ings, th ere is noth ing that

migh t' not be overthrown, espec ially by awrist as

powerfulas h is . Nothing be ing without its oh

jectionable side , I could easily'

pro ve that the sun

is the mostdeleterious and dangerous o bjectinthe

creation, by me rely observing a pro found silence as

to all' th e bless ings wh ich we derive from it, andonly setting fo rth

'

th e ills it produce s, not forg et

ting tho se that it is po ss ible it might eventuallyproduce . Acco rd ing to the propo rtion o f elo

qu'

énee , of wit, and of talent, employed insupport

of my hypo th es is, should I succeed incompo singa seductive wo rk ; but eventhose who recei ved the

greatest pleasure from read ing me would not the

less, as befo re , consider the sunas 'auobject iadispensably necessary to us, as the source o f all

our greatest ble ssings . I must th erefore farther.

remark, that ir-would abe entirely lost labour to

attemptseriously to answer and refuteM9Rousseau,

1 768 mano ras AND aux cno '

rz s. 267

wi th regard to‘

whathe says against plays ingene

ral, and that itwould be a ve ry ill-advised under

taking inany one who could no t write with as

much fo rce and energy as he does. Peo ple o f anytalents, o r po ssessing ever so little commonasense ,will refute the Citizen

’

s arguments as they read,

and willnotwant to have the refutati ons po inted

out to them. Indo ing justice to the talents of the

autho r, theywillno t the less remark a want of

log icalreasoning through the whole o f the wo rk ;

so thatwhat he labours to establish in'

one place, ’i s d estroyed, some pages afte r, by an assertion

wh ich , th ough perhaps it may no t be indi rect

oppos ition, i s ex tremely contradicto ry to it. This

concussiono f principle s d iametrically oppo s ite the

one to th e o th er, advanced to suit the pressure o f

th e moment, and fo rgottenamoment after to make

way for o thers wh ich cannever be reduced into'

any consonance with them, has beenalways a sub;

ject of reproach to the Citi z enof Geneva ; andnever was it mo re glaring than inh is ph ilippic

against the theatre —added to th is, his captionsand unfounded reasonings are commonly broughtforward with such warmth and vehemence, that

he seems as ‘

if he wanted to'blunt those percep

tions, wh ich h e cannotwholly re sist, of the falseho o ds h e is maintaining . Inawo rd , ifM. Rous

seauconsiders acting as coming under the descrip;tion‘o f th e imitati ve arts, and condemns it as such ,

the'

questionisi

resolved‘

into the dangerous nature

(if the Arts and Sciences themselves, wh ich he has

868 ms'

roarcar. Anna asar 1 758

so long maintained . If, admitting the cultivationo f genius and the arts among a polished people ,

he would banish th eatricalex h ibitions, he canonlyadvance things absurd and false insuppo rt o f h is

thesis. Hith erto our ph ilo sophe r has confined h im

self to maintaining parado x es o f a ve ry gene ral

nature,such as the dangers o f the sci ence s, o r the

dangers o f livmg tnsocieti es and w ith elo quence

like h is, iti s, easy to find someth ing spe cious to say

Uponth ese subjects : but if h e begins to particu

lariz e h is parado x e s, whate ve r.may be the power o f

.h is style, he canno t avo i d running into palpable

absurdities. ,

Madame de Grat’figny d ied some days ago , at

somewhatmo re thansi x ty years o f ag e . She is cc

lebrated as the autho r o f PeruvianLetters,awo rk

wh ich has been ex tremely admired , and fo r the

comedy o f Cenia, whi ch is never played butwith

great applause . Th is lady was no t so agreeable in

conversationas inhe r writing ; the re was some

th ing o rdinary and trifling inher manner. Tho se,howeve r

,wh o knew her intimately, say, that these

faults d isappeared in pro po rtion as she be cameeag er uponthe subject onwh ich sh e awas talking . [1

Lanna f rom Madame DE L’EPI NAY to M. DE

SA INT LAMBERT .

Geneva, 15th Decemb er, 1768.'

I f we lived inthe ag e o f Me rlin, a period

when,e very one .was somewhat versed j uthe Black

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come my inmates, and . wh ich arise ch iefly from

thinking o f you. With -how much pleasure do I

recallo the idea o f so many friends dear to'

myheart, o ccupied fo r e ver with my happiness — and

thatthis was so youhave given.me repeated proofsi

Among you, wh ile sentimenthas no th ing left todesire, every thing most ag reeable insociety :is

enjoyed. O w y friends !when shallI be able to

rejo inyou? The future , whenit i s too seducti ve;becomes a ch imera, and would so onbe a to rment;but reason,

'

w ise and seve re, teach es us to turn

every instant to profit bymaking use of the pre

sent. Th is is ‘less d ifli culth ere thanelsewh ere , butwe must -be uponour guard againstthe first coupd‘

seil. The env irons '

of Geneva are entirely o f d

kind to frightena French head , and especiallythat o f a female who has ne ve r befo re quitted herown country . Here we see no thing , save

'

lotty

mountains coveredWith eternalsnow o r arid field s,

but the people at- the same time , protected by

them, derive mo re s olid benefits

-from the ir situa

tion, as itappears to me , thanany o f wh ich we

are so vain. Here are no bri lliant equipa‘

ges, no

g ilded palaces ,no superb trains o f attendants

destitute of pomp and pageantry, the ir pure andtranquilminds seem animated only by wisdom, byequity, by the love of liberty ; the simplicity of

the i r h earts , the .urbanity of th e i rmanners seem

to lead w hack to the times whennature was

1 7“ m oms AND auscnom 97 1

To hosts such as these youwilleasily judge,Sir, the re 13 no difii cultyinaccommodating oneself .

Whata country i s thatm which things rid iculous

inspire mo re compassionthanlaughter. Would

youhave anex ample o f this read what follows

No t far from me lives a certain o rig inal, a Se

voyard -Ofiicer, fat and clumsy, but obliging toex cess, and

, if the truth be spoken it would be

d ifficult to determine wh ethe r'

he has alarger stock

of go odness o r of folly. His mania is to intro

dme allstrangers inthe townwherever the ir businms onthe i r wishe s lead them. To grati fy th ie f

fancy, he places h imself everymorning =npon~the

bridge, to watch the arrivalo f allnew-comers,

wh ile a party of h is soldie rs are employed to

watch at the other gate . Whenany one arrives,be be gentle o r simple , honest manor knew , he

carries h im with the utmo st ceremony to the best

in , when he regales him, and then without

making any enquiries who o r what he is, intro

duces h im to the princ ipal, persons o f th e place .

He is so noted fo r th is fancy that one day, inthe'

fields, he was accosted by ape rsonwho said he came

from Tripely, that h is name was Pignatelli, and

that

theydrove to the ph ilos0phe

hisw ags by the way that

be ex tremely happy to see h im. m eli wasi ‘the

mien, such thewretchedaspectof th is poo r cieatdiifi

5 1 3 1 0111011 1; AND L r'

rsnaav 1755

above allsuch Was the d ialectandmanne r in’

wh ich

h is salutations we re made , that the ph iloso ph‘

e'

r,

ind ignant, turned'

h is’

back uponh im. Our intro

duoer invain'

bustled about, running o ver, tillhe

was quite out o f breath , th e name s, title s, and a

long at eastern o f th is suppo sed Count;“‘ Jt ‘

i s

allmighty well,”says the young Sophy, but if

th is boo by really comes from Egmont, he mustat

least have beenthe h ead-co ok o f the Chateau.

”

Insho rt, not to protract my h istory too much ,our famous Count after a fewdays stay atGeneva

to ok h imself awaywith outawo rd said to any bo dy;leaving th e introducer top ay h is reckoning . Some

time elapsed, butno th ing mo re was h eard of h im,

yet our Savoyard could not get h im out of h is"

head, and o ftenenquired news conce rning h im,

“

o f' strange rs that came’

to the town,whenat

length he heard that the poo r Count had been.

hang ed as a malefacto r.’

InFrance whatmirth

would not th is sto ry hairs occasioned , ho w would

the po o r pro tecto r have been turned i nto rid i

cule —Well, h ere h is fellow-citi z ens °

pitied and

d idallthey could to console h im,w ish ing thatwith

a heartso generous, he might infuture be more

fo rtunate inh is judgment. As scarcely any th inghas beentalked about, atGeneva, fo r some days butth is h isto ry, I have thought that

-noth ing could be

mo re a-propo s, to gi ve'

youa just-id ea o fthe Gene'

s

vase bonhommie . Th is is th e g ene ralstile-wi"

x athei rcharacte r, w ith the ex ceptlono f some

,e ightno r ten

persons wh o beg into b e co rrupted ,— and I know

no t by What fatality, these are the very persons

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state sman. annam as s? 1769

Inthe firstyears that Iundertook the com-f

m ud of my troops, lWas altogethe r for po iuts ;

butnama ous events to which I was a wi tness, andinwh ich indeed I here a part, uudece ived me . It

was from the adoption of th is principle that mycampaignof 1744 failed entirely ;

'

and itwas from

having illsecured the posi ti on of the ir quartersthatthe French and Spaniards were atlength can»

pulled to abandon- Italy. I followed step by step

your campaigninFlanders, and without having so

much presumptionas to rely entirely on my own

judgment, I believe that the s everest censo r couldnotfind alimit. The greatart o f war i s to fo resee

allevents, and the great art of the general"

is so

have prepared allhis resources befo rehand, thathemay not be embarrassed what part to take wh en

the decisive moment is arrived . The better thetro o ps are, the better they are disciplined, the less

arti s requi red to command them, and as the gloryi s acquired by surmouuting d ifli culties, itis certain

that he ,who has the greatest po rtionof difli culfies'

to enoo tInter, ought aIWays to obtainth e largestshare o f honour. A Hannibalmayalways bemadeof a Fabius ; but I do .not th ink that aHannibalwould ever be capable o f pursuing the cdndhct ofaFab ius .

'

I congratulate yoirwith allmy heart uponth e fine cammignyou

'

ha'

ve'

iust concluded .

'

Ido not doubt?that the successes

‘

of the next'

will

be wo rthyEo f the two’

precedingPm events with too much prudence

—

to'

doubt'

of

1 759 m oms sun“canons .

your successes. The e hepter of events is vast, butforesig htand sddsessm y corre ct:fortimd I am,

SigneHFafinu lcx .

Although this létter be not new ] thoughtyonwould not be sorry to add it to thc collectionyou

against M. Rousseau‘

s work, and h i s probablethat many more are yetto come ; fo r the inutilityof the th ing cannotrestrainany one who is strongir infected with the w ast/m W endi MkM9?mouse! has de fended the cause o f plays 010“diflh scly iu the H awk /fi rearm,

and theMarquudd X imenes has addressed aletter to them e“uponthe mo ralefiea o f theatricalentertairnents lI tis s aid besides thata playeratLyons is about to

“‘k the qne stion, added to -wh i9h ~anew s”

beenhanded about inmanuscript as Erma (Karla-s

gain3 thi s letter la inimympinioninfamous, began“itismuch more a persanalattackupon the mnners and mo rals o f M.Rousseauh imself thana

d iscussiono f thd W eB-Wh icb he has putfgnh .

Inshort,'

here is a quarrelsti rredwh ich willprgye a

fertfle sourtie'

of M to us for a yesr, perhaps. tocome . AIL the answerers of M. Renam e allow

that he is int he right at far as tbe tpwn'

of Geneva

alone i s concerned , and only, combatwhat he has

said against the theau'e ingeneral. ; Fo r my pert,T 2

276 nm o arcu. A ND .m n

ithas,I own, appeared to me very ridiculous to seeM. d

’

Alembectand .MaRousseaude bating at~Paris,

and troubling the public th eme, with whatsis, o r isno t e x ped ient fo r the towno f Geneva, as if theyhad beenelected by the

'

repeblic fdr'

thatp irrpo se ;

or as if itwas of '

great importance to France ,nay toEuro pe , or evento the world at large, tO

‘ d iscusaa

po intwh ich doesnotconcernth em inth e least, and

should be left entirely to the mag istrates and

people o f Geneva to settle as they think best.M. d

'

Alembe rt’s article has -beenthough tvery

~ ridiculous at Paris, M . Rousseau’

s

back has no t beenthoughtless so atGeneva. The

sensible part of th e Genevese say: With whatreason

‘

does this writer th ink h imself qualified toexpatiate upon

'

.the interio r c once rns o f our

town. I-I e '

quittedo it at a very early

’

age, he

rece ived awholly fore igneducation,'

and'

passed

forty years o f h is‘

life a'

to tal stranger to it.

Neve r has he hved there ; inthe course o f h is

lifi he has visited the place tWo o r three times,but never to stay mo re than annouth o r sit

weeks, and then he was only among pe rsons in

very obscure s'

ituations . Suppo se amanbo rnat:

Constantino ple, butwho had quieted itat five orsix years of age , would he be considered as verywellqualified tu-

g ive anaccount bf the mannersfi

and customs of the Turks i -M. Rousseau iv

unacqum’

nted with our'

laws, our customs , 001‘

gcnih s, the sources of om pro sperity o r of -our

ills,'

the spi i'it of our government of the magi s

~

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278 mm am . AND mum : 1759

di stance ; every th ing i s ex plained ins ach aman

net as'

willb est accommo date it to the purpo se .

M. Rousseauh as arranged inh is h ead a picture of

th e to wnof Geneva, not such as it i s, has as h e

would have it, inorder to pro scribe playhouses

infi re manne r as his imag inationfo rmerly created

a b atory o f. animals, and men in savage Bfi ,fa

vo rfi'able to h is i deas of the dangers o f societjr ;wh ile, from gorg

’

ng himself with h i s system , he

finishes atlast bys ece i ving ve ry se riously; as facts,Mugs th at o rig inated only inh is own creative

fancy. Without knowing much'

o f the town of

Geneva en’

s-self, it is easy, with a little ph ilo

soph y and .refie ctimr, to see that the manners

M . Rousseau w ins to hi s countrymencanno t

be thei r zrealones. I f the inhflritants of Genevalived, like tho se of som o f th e interior

'

eantonr o f

Switz erland, remote from allconnectim with the

net o f fthemmrld, am allintercourse with foreignnati ons; o ccupi ed solely with the cultivation of

M r so il, ignomnt of allmher tudes bnt dmse d f

alabom r’

and I should nadaly belie vei hatxthe Ci ti z ensells us o f the s implicity of their

manners, md should be di sposed to subscribe to

h is opinion, that it ought to be maintained withthe m ast ease, that itwoald be do ing j hem gnuinjury to attempt polish ing them. WIN-73 1Wthat at lug , atU ri , atUntawd gl, the firstmagisfirstc is annid wani superio r o tfly to ethe pthminznndemtaadmg but, like the rest, M ating his

W ar whoW inslow seated s pans stone

1 769 379

undenthe shade of a spreading oak, I have nodjfi culty inbelieving such -‘a people to be amongthe happiest upon the glo be , and can read ily ,

allow that they do notwant theatres, o r the arts,

or to have any cares bestowed in furnish ing them

Wi ih mnscnlents. But Geneva is ve ry far from

being a place of thi s description; its inhabitants

not having , properly speaking , .

any territo ry of

the ir own, have no cho ice giventhembetweenbeing mere cultivato rs o f the so il, a mode of life

which at once renders the manners simple and mild

and preserves th emso , and following tho se other

occupati ons wh ich always co rrupt the manners

more or less, They are obliged to have recourse

to commerce and the arts, and in consequence

wealth accumulates among th em, with allthe ills

that itbringsm its train. How, amid the pursuits

Qf intemt, and the lav? o f gain, by wh ich they

thatpurity and simplicity of manners ascribed to

them by M. Roussean. The Genevese are the

greatest of allvagahomls ; there is not a corne r in

this part of the glo be Where they are not to be

h and : what numbe rs pass the gmatest part fi f

M lives atParis and “L ondon. How cana

people , tlms addioted to mmbling , who so readily

gaittMir eountry, h1we thatardsntlo ve for it, thatuniformity intheir manners , without which it is

impossible fo r th ei r simplicity to be prese rved ?

To th is may be added , thatGeneva has beentho

s so narrowes t. AND m one y'1759

Protestants, and that there are no t perhaps iri the

;whole town twenty purely“

Swi ss families. The

genu ine have o ftenbeenconsidered as pe rsons sf

,talents , and as hav ing a great readiness inacquiting arts , o r practising commerce , but theynever.were celebrated fo r the v irtues imputed to them

byM. Rousseau. Nay, not to mentionthat good

faith .

’

15 by no means considered as th e ir peculiar

characteristic, . they were never c ommended amongthei r ne ighbours for the ir co rd iali-ty, and fo r-the

simplicity of the ir manners .

April. 1769.

A decree has been i ssued by h is Majesty’

s

‘Councilof State , dated the'

e igh th of March; te

,voking the letters of‘

privilege granted to the Eni

cyclopmd ia. Thus is the grande st and most important undertaking that ever Was set onfoot inliterature stopped inthe mid st of 1ts prog ress, andth e confidence o f the public ineve ry species of

.ia the wo rk cry out that the ir cred it 13 ruined),but the public has much more cause to cumplaiirl.I t i s demonstrable that e very subscriber has paidno less their a hund red and fo rty i i i/res inadvahchp ponthe ensuing volumes, beside s thatthdsq whichhaVe come out

,are rende red of almo stno value by

the want o f the plates . M. Dide rot had prepared

mate rials fo r mo re than th ree thousand p ist'

eF iarid itwas by this treasure that the EnoycIOpad id;notwi thstanding the faults inseparable from and!an

’

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8 1 1703 1 64»u p muss" 17159

right; I knownothow the w ulco rporation

of booksellers will eve r be able to console them

selves for the loss of some thousand subscriptions ;but the authors concerned incompiling the work

,y illat least be great gainers. The pro fit they de

rived from i twas very small; M. Diderot, for ex .

ample, w illgainby this suppression, inthe first

place, peace and quiet; and, inthe next. time tooccupy himself insuch other works so the fece s

glity o f his geniusmay wssflfit to him. and fromwh ich he willacquire far more reputation and

Profit

No vember. 1769

The wo rks o f Mr. Hume increase in reputa

tioninFrance inpropo rtionas they become mo reknownfrom be ing mo re translated ; by the ex pira

ti ono f another year we shallpro bably have acom

plete editiono f them. A translationo f theHistoryof NaturalR elig ionhas just be en published inHolland , as wellas o f Three Dissertations. meuponthe pass ions, ano the r upontragedy, and thethi rd upontaste . I know no t whe ther these are

by the same personwho , aboutayear ago , publisheda translation o f th e PhilosophicalEssay: o fMr.Hume, but it appears to me that much greater

pains were takenwi th the Essays thanha s be“!bestowed uponthisnew work. The AbbePre vost

promises us atranslationo fMr.Hume’

sM et”

th is wetlarwhich '

lm am ymum in

England, willmost certainly obtainanequaloneinFrance, i f the translato r willtake the trouble of

gi ving allthe grandenr and elevati onhe is so ca

pable o f g i ving to his style.

Before I enter upona discussion'

of the new

collecti onwhi ch has just appeared, I mustadvertto ani dea of Mr. Hume

’

s, wh ich I have long entertained myselfland which I m delighted to find

inthe works o f so enlightened aphiloso pher. The

find betweenthe antipats and the modems, withregard to the study o f letters, is very remarkable,Among the Roman emperors, reckoning fromCaesar to Se verus mo re thanthe half were au

th ors ; and, not to menti onGermanicus and

Ag rip pina h is daughter, who were so nearly con

nected with the th rone, the greater part of the

class icalwrite rs, who se wo rks have been pre

served to us, were menof distinctionby birthand rank. Asallhumanadvantages are attendedwith some mconvenieuces, we may ascri be the

5‘ revolutionwh ich has takenplaceamong man

kind tnthis respect to the inventi onof printing.

This has rendered bOpks so common, thatmen

evenof the mo stmoderate fo rtunes canprocurethem.

- lknownotwhether the facility o f pro

w ring books, as Mr.Hume th inks, o r rather the

facility o f publishing them, as I am inclined to be

of opinion, may have most degraded the trade o f

auiauthfl ; bllt it. is certainthat, under th is po int

284 m sroarcu. AND w sm r 1 769

to letters. T he mo st ordinarymindshaving found

the means of publish ing the i r'

absurdities and im-r

pertinences to the wo rld, and o f rende ring them

the means o f profit to themselves, it has followed

as a necessary consequence that auth o rsh ip has

become a professi on; and many persons now de

pending upou'

th is trade fo r a subsistence , such an

abuse o f the privilege of writing w illo f course be

pe rpetuated . Genius and taste must be alike suf

ferers from so g reat a multiplicati ono f bad pro

ductions o f every kind , fo r i t is impo ssible to ex

pect that the fruit o f a go od tree , standing amidst

fifty degene rate'

ones which bear no thing but ex ecrable fruits, should preserve its primitive beautyand ex cellence ; we always take , more orless, the

tbne from those by wh om we are surrounded . Per

haps it is inthe inventionof printing thatwe are

to seek the cause o f thatvery great d ifl'

erence wh ich

persons o f anex quisite and delicate taste canneverfailto perceive betweenthe autients ’

and the mo

dems. Among the Greeks and Romans study wasthe relaxationo f the noblest and mo st elevated

minds ; amano f o bscure conditioncould not se

qui re reputationialetters but by th e display o f a

very ex trao rdinary genius. Among us the career

of letters h as become that o f allthe mostuseless

among the spe ci es ; no write r is so contemptiblebut that h e may hope to see h is name inprint;

pay, and evenmuch mo re frequently thanthe

names of M. de Montesquieu‘

and Mfde Voltai re .

There are parts of the world inwhich the Cheva

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1 739

i tnecessary to'

seek outpatrons, to study th e re igning wh im, andp|nctiseother tricks -of trad e, so

cloth . This:ie '

what» our scri bblersqualify by thetitle o f mefi od, end whioh , acco rding to theirats

ro dents Poor sie rpletdns . that we'

are , thus‘

te

miotme the-triwinl'

ertof pnttib g a'M illing mi

gether, M 'thé power cf building a beautifulafi

fiee. We d o nm find inow methodicalhochs'eil

ther wartnth , elid racter, e x tent of views, o r g ain;instead -o f M ar the spirit of M ien, o f 6 301183

tion, abounds in-a degree to ' excite the perfecti ondf emmi . Nay, let awork of red genius bychance

appear,-instan’tly th e w ok tribe of method iz ers

fi llupon it, patheticallylamenting its defib iencyinmeth od . Incapable of sew inpanying a superiormind in'

its‘mght, inthe proud mining of its ideas;

M oot reduce to thei r dulland paty standard;

no necesrity ofwriting fo r the'

public, that i!’ fo r

allso rts of ‘

readers, renders our wo rks vague and'

ni s ipid; bye oufining m to M ing but common“

Wee rew rite and id eas . The nation‘s,writingfor d i sind lndinw“of M ] i

weeks commonly?«chasm ; es W mimgave them by that w as theW t“ MM it

i r‘

rmora'

s AND anncnorns .

According to M. de Voltaire ; the speeches

made bynew members, onbeing received into theFrench Academy, consi st o rdinarily o f four or finessenfialpropositions . Imprimis, thatthe Card inaldo Richelieuwas a greatman secondly, that-the

Chancello r Seguier was a greatman; thirdly, thatLouis the Fourteenth was also a great man;fourthly, that the Academicianwhom he succeemWas mo re especially a very gre at man; and

' that

m President. the Secretary and allthe Membersare great men; wh ich leads him to h o pe , may,mat h e h imself, be ing admitted m ung them, on,ah a hat/e some chance o f bri g considered as e

grest’

msn. From allthese ing redients, o f gunmen, is commonly conipiled one . of the mb stflltmd insipid s peeches swarm forth? inthemof the

'Ganls ; where , however, th reo is .no 'inoouih mble crop

-of flat ones .

M. lc Franc dcPompip an, h -taking h is .“atthe Acaderuy, though the would i diwerge . insome

respects , atleast, from th is commonroutine . . in»inthe first place ins inuates to us fip retq plainly;that he ,"om' new membe r, ~ i s anvery gm t

‘mam;he 'afterwards allows thatM; deMaupe rtuis,Wham

fiWdtf invecti ve against thephi lomphemrand are

988 m emmen. AND .

L i l-nuns

Richelieu,Segnie r,Maupertuis, hnd Louis the Four

tednth, be ing dead , there remains, properly speaking , no greatman in.

Frsnce , ex ceptM. lo Francdc

‘Pompignan; Messieurs dc Voltaire, dc Buflbn;d’

Alembert’andD iderotare fitonly to be th rowntothcd og s . T h is speech has no t beenrece ived with

indifl'

erenCe b y the public. I t is found zsomeNQhatsingular that the only g reatmanof whomFrancecould boast should . come from the farther end/ p fGascony to the capital, in

-o rder'

to teach .“that;

no '

oo e w h o a great man but inasmuch .“hegoes . to .mass and tells o ver his beads, and that

M. de'Manpertnis was only a great manbecause

he d ied inthe -

hand s o f priests. I t has ap:

peered-somewhat extrao rd inary that amanshonld

beginhis career at theAcademyzbyla satite againstth e literati of the country,

'

and i mpnte'

to'

us Ethe

phy . This is, inplaine r terms; to saylthat'oar -

‘

phifiinsepby is b eeonseJ

'

alse'

and o dhngeroas ;S ince .i t has

resembled thstl~of Gre ece inthe“time of Socratesand Pinto , o f Rome i n

“

the daysmf ; Lalius andCicero , of England inthe denses t

-Newton.c ke;

and Pepe . 1 I knownotWhether the setting lpff.

of

Md e a o de Pompignanbe that”o fagmqtfman;

but I sm very sare‘ it is not . that of anti se p tic;

I t «was easy to s ec that, even

00t to be .neni iss .ingoingfession, that does .not st allm lnde themfrpn;being able to wield the penWh am. acclaimtheypnight very possibly be tempted .30 613 9191 3

9

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msromcsnAND Law 1700,

enough , it happens thatM. .le Frm afiu be ingcons idered for fo oty years, uponh is ownword, as ;

manfully qualified to be a member o f the FremhAcademy, no so oner has become one thanh is title

to elig ibility i s d isputed ; ,ao true is i tthat persons

too much . penetrated with the ir ownmerit. d o notattract e qualelimination. from other» Y ouwillread ily beli eve thatthis contest has already given

birth xo pamphlets of allkinds . M lo Franc

judged proper to answer theAlthoug h Inamemerialaddressed to the King . M. Clodoré and all

the authors ofy i and Wing s could no thsve e i rculated airy .thing mo re s evere againsth im thanth isabsurd and '

rid iculonsa pology ; it has certainlynotb rought the laughers o ver to his side.

June. 1760.

Y ouwillex pect.withoutdoubt, that}shouldnotice th e ”celebrated Cflmedy Of 1708 Phi loso

Mm , with zwhich the public has beenso much ccLcupied for six weeks past. No thing canrmpaint the e haracter of our nation.thatwhat ism

passing sandst onr eyes . Thatwe experienced someill-s trokes of fontune is notorious .to allEuro pe .

What would be the astonishment .of .a strangerwho arriving at Paris, insuch amomenh alwnldfind it occupi ed with noth ing butBamponeam-Pomenigma, and Palissot. .Such i ahowever—she w ,

aud i t the news of a battle gaiued had swived on

thegday when The PM was first broughtrent» inwouldrhsse lheena battleJostso the glory

nancras AND s arcomas . 291

o f M. de Bmglio , for no body wofld h ve talked of

it. The triumvi rs o f the nation have happily.

made us fo rget that .We are involved inany cala

mitice. Ramponeau, the tavern-keeper of La Ctille , is become one o f the most celebrated per

sonag es inFrance , an object of attention and

conversationbo th to the courtand to the c ity ; and

that only fo r having sold h is w ine cheaper than

his brethren, for having g i venaway liquor among

allthe lackeys of Paris. Master Le Franc do

Pompignan, fo r having delivered a dulland imper

tinour spe ech at the , French Acad emy, and for

having beenlashed for it ina delig htfulvarie ty o f

ways ,now shares M. .Bamponeau’

s celebrity ; whilePalisso t, who was hitherto only a compo se r of

obscure libels, is associated infame with the o ther

two , fo r writing the immo rtalcomedy o f The Phi »

Joseph " . When this piece is read , at the d is

tance o f fifty league s from Paris , peo ple must be

much astonished at'

the no ise it has made . The re

is ne ither plan in it, no r intrigue , nor conduct,

nor characte r, nor w it, no r humour, no r strength ,

no r ligh tness, none o f the qualities , in sho rt,

Which are usually numbe red among the requis ite s

ina d ramatic compo snion. We find noth ing but

a mise rable imitation o f the situati ons in Le

Mac/rantand c s Femmes savantes . N o ta scene

wh ich d isplays any talent ex cept fo r malignity, o r

any sentiment except a des ire to injure . The

only drainatic situation inthe pie ce , thatwh e re

the valet robs '

his master in consequence o f his

nrsroarcar. ‘

A ND Ll'

I ERAu" 1760

system o f mo rality, i s takenfrom Timonthe Man

hater . The whole wit and po int o f th e comedyconsi sts inbringing out

,fo r ever, thatphilosopher

and rogue are synonymous terms.— in attacking

M . Di de ro t, M. Helvetius , and o the rpe rsons, and

bring ing them forwards as rascals, as menwithout

principle , -and inmaking JeanJacques go onall

fours.

However wretched th is piece may he initself,it wi llbe ever memo rable, as marking anepoch inthe h isto ry of France , and willpro ve the justnesso f the obse rvation, that the mo st ex trao rd inaryevents oflenhang upon

'

the mo st trivialand con

temptible causes . i t is inreality amatter o f great

ind ifference that Pali sso t sh ould have”

writtena

wretched comedy, levelled againstmeni rreproach

able in their mo ralconduct and deserving"

o f the

h ighest respect fo r the i r industry and talents ; .but

that th is farce sh ould have beenacted onthe same

theatre w ith the wo rks o f . the g reat Co rne ille,‘

under the autho rity o f the government; that the

police, wh ich in th is country pursue s with such

severity allsatiricalworks,'

sh ould have dev iated

from'

i ts principles and permitted meno f the abo vedescriptionto be publicly insulted by a mo st atrocions sati re, —th i s 1 5 no t a matter o f ind i fferen

ce .

Besides sh owing an inversion of alljustice and

go od o rde r, i t evince s whatkind o f favour learn

ing and ph ilo sophy have to ex pect, h encefo rward,

on the part o f the go vernment. ft i s easy to

fo resee the result. Ph ilo sophy has no sooner

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nrsroarcs r.‘ AND cm aaar 1 760

would it be o bse rved to th em, that for above a

century past th e English people h ave beenmore

enlightened thanwe shallever'

be ; th at th ough

th ey have had the ir Hobbe s, th ei r Collins , the i r

Lo cke , and have now thei r Home and the ir John

son, thi s has no t prevented th e i r infantry standing,

at the battle o f Minden, against allthe eflbrts of

the be st cavalry o f France , and obtaining a me

mo rable victo ry- ia vain, I say, would allth ese

th ings be represented to them ; the prejud ice

against philo sophy is too well established ever to

yi eld to o bservations founded'

incommonsense , it

would still produce its usualclients . The light

which had begunto spread w ill so on be whollye x tinguished ; barbarism and superstiti onwill te

cover allth e ir influence ; two o r th ree menof genius,wh o

‘

stillremain, willsoonbe silenced or banished

th e country, and th e h e do es no t seem far distant

whenitwillbe thought a blessing to France thatshe i s deprived o f them.

With ina short time we have had printed hereth ePanegyr icy Matthew Reinhard , amaster shoe

maker . I t is a piece o f humour, writtenlastyear,by the K ing o f Prussia

, inh is camp, atLandshut.Y ouwillfind some th ings rathe r ted ious, manyth ings h ighly amusing . Ingene ral, th is is not the

specie s o f writing inwhi ch the Ph ilo sopher o f

Sans-Souci particularly e x cels . Th is monarch, in

th e midst of allh is military to ils, has addressed an

epistle inverse to M. d’

Alember'

t, uponth’ s“I"

1 7604 m oms AND anncho 'rns . 295

pressiono f-the Encycloptedia; i t i s

‘fullo f stftengthand fire. M. Joly de Fleury with his requisitiono f

lastyear, the Jesuits -with thei r hypocrisy and rdirtytransacti ons . ia Po rtugal; the fools with

'

their oh

scuritie s and thei r h igh pretensi ons, are notspared.

I'

wish I could have sentyoua copy, buth itherto

M . d'

Ademberthas not thought preper to ,letany

"

of his friends have one .

The po em o fm m , by Thomson, has}

beentranslated thi swinter; the edition,made o f it,i s ornamented with plates and v ignettes; and is at?

leasthandsome to the eye. Med ians Bontemps is }

the personby whom it i s translated, but the wo rk »

i snotvery h ighly esteemed . The fault'

of ’tln'

s po etry

seems to consist intoo greatap ro fusiono f imagery?inbeing, if I may say so, too poetical. From'

being o ver rich and flowery, it becomes fatiguing“

and moh btouons ; the same Fault maythe fbund '

With The F icus-ares g"

Imag ination. Th e’

wo i 'ld'

have hardly g iVenthemselves this trbnble o f passing"

any judgment uponMadame Bontemps’

share of

the wo rk—th e translation.

Mr. Hume, in,h is Dissertationuponthe Rules

y Taste, draws a so rt o f parallelbetweenHomer

and M. de Fenelon, onwh ich I must make a few

observations . WhenHomer,”says he , lays

downgeneralprinciple s, every bo dy assents to_

thei r truth . The case is not the same wh enhe“

paints personalmanners. There i s inth e courage

U 4

296 H I O‘

I‘

OB I CAL AND Lin ks“ 1 760

o fAchiIles ,aferocity ; inthe prudence o f Ulysses,a duplicity, whi ch Fenelonwould certainly ne ver

have g i s ento those he roes. The sage Ulysses , o f

the Greek. po et, is aliar by pro fession‘

aud inclina

tion instead of Wh ich , inth e French poem, his

son carrie s .h is scruples so far as to run the

g reatest dangers rather than deviate from the

most rigid truth .

”Let us o bserve ,

'

inthe first

place, that, as to generalprecepts, allpoets , all

leg islato rs, allfounders o f relig ions, inculcate the

same moralsystem. Virtue is always praised , v ice

is always condemned and it i s a very tr ifling merit,

as Mr. Hume h imself says, to lay downgeneral

max ims upon.the science o f mo rals. Thus, when

we do nothear any thing bette r said , of a dramatic

piece , thanthat it is the wo rk o f anhonestman,we may safely add, o f amano f very moderate ta

lents. No th ing is infact mo re easy. thantb put

max ims into '

verse , and to tellus thatwe ought to

be humane , generous, compassionate . Of allthe

po etic rules none appears so idle as to tellthe poetthat he oughtalwayso to have amo ralend inView ;as i f, universalreasonbeing such as it is, a poet

could be at liberty to have any o th er view ; that

he could be allowed, fo r instance , to rende r v irtueodious Th ere i s th is d ifference betweenth e heroesof the I ltad and those o f Telemachus, that the

fo rme r are sketched after humannature, the latteruponthe generalprinciples o f mo rals ; they must

beconsequently cold , destitute o f vigour, o f colouring , and of truth . The po et assumes as amoral.

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msr orucar. AND a rm s ? 1 780

i rresistibly to prevent a sacrifice believed necessaryfor th e salvation o f Greece . No mo ralmax im

would result from this duplicity in; UlysSes, but

the painte r Would have displayed a stroke (if true

genius, he would have done a th ing truly sublime .

Ingeneral, fo rci ble manne rs'

are requisite fo r paint

ing and po etry, but-theymust be simple as well-

as

energetic. We may perhaps be autho ri z ed insaying, that the mo re a people are. polished, the less

poeticalaud picturesque they become. Mr. Hume

i s inanerro r whenhe says that a repre sentation

pleases us inpro po rti onas the characters resem

ble tbo se we see inour owncountry, and that some

eflbrts are required to reconcile na to th e simpcity o f ancient

]

manners . On the contrary, it

seems to me, that thi s simplic ity has an inde

scribable charm to a man of taste ; instead of

wh ich ourmanners, destitute of truth and strength,

canonly be insipid inimi tati on. Wi th what efleetcana peo ple be represente d inpo etry o r inpaintingwh o se dress is ridiculous

,whose principle s have

»

almost all some tincture o f thei r Goth ic origin,among whom we no longer remark

'

any sensible

d istinctiono f age o r manners, and where we see

noth ing like the appearance o f any th ing afi‘

ecting‘

evenamong the nearest relations. Let me add,

that itwould be a great folly, arid lo ss to the arts,

to carry into them that false delicacy which reigns

inour principles and in'

our conduct. He amongus who should revenge h imself onh is

'

enemy, byassassination, i s for everdishonoured ; he must put

1760 nu ons AND anecnom 999

arms into h is hands, and challenge him to the

fight. Butthe young Co rsi can, whomhis mothertrains up insentiments o f vengeance , by showinghim eve ry day the mantle dyed with h is fathe r

'

s

blood, andnaming the fatalenemy o fthe ir family,th is haughty islande r, who no soone r arrives at

manho od thanh e conceals h imself beh ind a bushto attack the murderer of h is fathe r by surpri z e,

and defeneele ss,— canhe be conside red as a stranger

to the principles o f true h onour —By pursuing a

train o f such reflections we easily perce ive that

Mr. Hume does no t Speak as a mano f taste , not

evenas a ph ilosoph er, whenhe attacks the trage

dies o f Polyeuctes'

and Athalia, and ad vances that

th e b igotry with wh ich th e RomanCath olic reli

g ioninspires its followers, and wh ich is so promi

nent a feature inthese piece s, d isfigures th em ex

tremely. Tolerance i s undoubtedly one o f the first

o f humanv irtue s ; but if the High o

priest inthe

tragedy o fAthaliawere not intolerant, and ifPolyeuctes we re no tfanatical, these ,

two pieces would

certainly not be chd’

s-d’

artwre . I t i s th e same

case w ith the v ici ous qualities wh ich the Scotch

philo sopher repro ves inthe hero es o f Home r.

Lsnm fi 'omJew JAQU ES Rousseauto ill. Par.

Llsso r , returning him the Comedy q he Ph i

lo so phers.

Montmorency, May i t, 1760.

Inrunning o ver the p iece which yousentme,Sir, I shuddered whenI found myself .praised . I

ursroamanurn Ltrm uv 1 760

cannot accept th is ho rrible present. I am per

sueded that youdid notmean, to affront me ; but

you are igno rant, undoubtedly, o r you have fo r

gotten, that I have the honour to be the intimate

friend o f M. Dide rot,o f that respectable man

whom youhave ao ~ cruelly calumniated inthis in

famous libel.

M. de SaintFo ix , wh o is accused by the au

tho rs o f the Chr istianJournalwith having endea

voured , inh is Essays onPar is, to turnrelig ioninto

rid icule, and with having scattered a greatmanyimpieties o ver h i s wo rk, has takena ve ry dec ided

part. He has presented a request to the L ieutenantof the CriminalCourt, as the first step in com

mancing acriminalpro secutionagainstth e autho rs

o f th is calumny . They were e x tremely alarmed at

ameasure so une xPectg d , and immed iately madeallpo ssible apology and reparationfo r what theyhad said -the afi

’

air has th e refo re beencompro

mi sed .

'

I twould have beenmatte r o f g reat curio'

sity_

to see what so rt o f a sentence th e courtwould

have pronounced upon a spe cies'

o f calumny so

very much in'

vogne inthe se days. M. de Saint

Fo i x is amanwh o is ing ene ralve rymuch praisedand flatte red by our journalists, because he has de ~

clared that he willcut ofi‘

the ears o f anym esa

attacks h im, and th ese gentry have no doubttduthe would adhete strictly to h is words.

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m eannes s. AND a rm “ 1760

much o f chance into my plans, fo r want o f the

means of do ing othe rwise . I have the labours of

Hereples onmy hands, at anage whenmy strength

begins to fail, and my infi rmiti es increase ; when,tp say the truth , hope, the only consolationo f the

unfortunate, begins to forsake me . Y ou are not

ideaof the dangers thatmenace the state . I know

them, [concealthem, I keep my apprehensi ons”myself, and communicate noth ing to the public

but 1the hopes and the little goodnews thatLoangi ve them. I f the stroke I med itate should supeeed, then, my dear Marquis, .willbe the fime forour h earts to ex pand wi th jo y ; but tillwe see the

event of th is letus no t flatter ourselves, lest byunexpected ill-fortune we should be too much cast

down

I lead here the li feof a military Chartreux .

I have match to th ink o f m the g reat pressure of

bus iness, th e rest o f my time I de vo te to le tters,

which are my only consolation, as they were to

the orato r Consul, the father of eloquence and p f

his country. I know no t whether I shallsurvi ve

this war ; but I am resolved, if I sh ould , to passthe rest of my days in the bo som o f frierndsh ipand philosophy. As soon as the communication

inWriting to are often. I know not where weshalltake up ,our winter quarters . My house at

of the town. Our enemies g rudge us the light of

1760 m oms AND am no 'ras.» 303

day, and the air we breathe ; some place, how

eve r, ,they must leave us , and if it be secure I

cannot help having a hope o f see ing youthem.

And what, my dear .Marquis, willbecome‘

of

the peace o f fi ance i—Y onsee that your nationis

more blinded thanyoubelieved it. These mad

men. ,willlo seC anadasand Pondicherry to please

the gueenmf Hungary and the Czarina. Heaven

grant 'thatPrince Ferdinand may pay the ir z eal

walls—It will.be the ofi e ers, .and the poor 8014

(li ens; fi lm are innocent of these ills , fi atwillibe

fire v ictims of at, wh ile 'th e illustrious gui lty mil

eseepe renfi rely~unhurt. I know ,eu anecdote {of

the Duke d e m r whifi l I willimport whenI

see you. Never did a -more mad and inconside rate

proce eding blast the character of a mini ster of

France, since ministers have e x isted. But d am

interrupted by bus ine ss. I was -ina d ispo si tionito

write ; but I must conclude, at the same time to

release «you, and «not to be wanting inmy duty.

Ad ieu!my dear Marquis - I embrace youwithallmy fhearta

FREDERIC.

Peter the Gm , by M. d e Voltaire , «the first r

part

of wh ich,

is justmnblished, has not met with so

di stinguished a reception‘

as the impo rtance o f the

mfiectand th e b igh'

reputationof the autho r gave

just freasono

‘

tc expect. People are , in therfirst

ntsroatcu. sunursamv‘

1760

place, disappo inted ath aving Only half the h istorythey lo oked fo r a complete wo rk . Tbe ’

partwh ich

has beenthe mo st attached i s th e preface ; it is

th ought‘

puerile , and in a bad taste , writtenina

strain to o much bo rdering‘

on the facetious ; i t

would not evenmake a figure, people say,~ ina

lite rary miscellany. I freely o wnthat I am no tso

much shocked at it as the public ingeneral;'

I even

think that the part wh ich attacks the system of

the Ch inese be ing the descendants o f anEgyptian

colony contains much able and e x cellent cri ticism.

I twas no t th e fault o f our j ournalists, last year,when th e reveries o f M de

'

Guig-nes and th e Abbé

Barthelemy we re put into circulation, if they were

not thought to have made the mo sto impo rtant dis

co veries the age had produced . These gentlemen

decided upon the o rig in of a peo ple , re spectingwhom we have very little inforniati onthat canberelied on. with a ce rtainty wh ich could scarcely

have beenapplied with pro priety to very recent

events inour ownh isto ry. The fools ex claimed as

if a miracle had beenpe rfo rmed, and every bodyknows o f what impo rtance the ir ex clamations are

inthe wo rld . However, that formidable antago

nist of fully who lives onth e bo rde rs o f the lake

o f Gene va, with a few pages of rid icule , has over

thrownallthei r nonsensicaland labo rious edSfiCeo f conjectures, and made its absurdity . manifest

e ven to th o se who'

°are the least clear-s ighted .

Fools do not love to have'

such incurs ions .madeuponthem, and th is is the reasonwhy they cry

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nts'roatcs r. AND e aas ar 1 760

'

Plutarch be good fo rno th ing but to be th rowninto

the fire . The publiclife o f a manteaches me to

know h is public character, it is his domestic life

that teach es me to know the man. One day, in a

h ot summer, MarshalTurenne was leaning out at

the window with only h is waistcoaton. A servant,who passed th rough the room, mistaking him for a

fellow-servant, came so ftly up to h im and gave

h im a heavy slap beh ind . The Marshal turned

round , whenth e servant, terrified , threw h imself

on h is knees, entreating h is fo rg iveness, . and

assuring h im that he thought it had beenJames.And if it had beenJames,

”said the Marshal,

calmly, there was no occasion to strike so

—What dowe learnfrom such a reply?

Why that th is great manwas no less calm'

and

cornpo sed in h is house thanat the head of his

army . Every one knows th e h isto ry o f his hat,

throwninto the pitb ya. manwho , flo or the Marabal

’

s simple dress and modest demeanour, had

no idea that he was by the'

side o f the greatr

I iilrelsne. I am wellaware that‘we ought not to

lose sight of the important facts and brilliant

actiona ot’

ahero , amidst these pettydetaila, but in

the eyes ofz aphiloaopher such minuim fo rm~bynomeans the least interesting .

part o f the picture .

To deprive us off them is not 'only a thefl jmadc

from truth, but it impo verishes the s ketch , it is

detracting at the same time -from the genius both o f

the hero , and of h is histo rian; and this M. (16

Voltaire has done moot. m alty. ln-conseqnenc.o f the principle he lays dw nm aword is sEd by

1 7Gb nanni e s sunanz cnoras.

him of the famous suit againstPe ter’

s sou no strokedisplays the character and personalqualities of theleg islator o f Russia. I know no t whether th isd iscretionmay be pleas ing to the Court o f St.

Petersburgh , but I know that it has made thepic.

ture ‘

very cold .and meag re . One who si gns h is

letters the oldfi ee M ss ought, inthe production:

of his pen, to preserve th isnoble character o f inde~

pendence . To write th e life of a greatmanwith th e

des ignof courting his descendantby snppressing a

partof the facts, by lowering the merit o fthe Czar’

s

rivals, is anideanuwnrthy of apersono f genius , and

dese rves to be punished d

by the fallo f the whole

work—So much fo r what I have to say uponthe

preface . I ' found one remark initwhich pleased

me particularly it is that, if the re had never beenbut one b ottle fought inthe world , the names of

allthe soldiers wduld have beenknown, and the ir

genealog ies would have descended to the remotest

po sterity . What a s trange-th ing then

'

is a

battie ;—fi>r it is very eertainthatM. de Voltaire’

s

remwls is just.ldo not think thatthe patriach

'

s great talent

is writing history, and my i d“ is strongly confirmed by that which he has just published . The

History g'

Cba 'les the tweylh has afl the fire andanimati onof anovel, and such a stile accords verywellwith the brilliantactions of a hero , who hada strong ting of thc romantic character ; bntthis

is a case single inits kind, and M. de Voltaire has

never done x ry th ing inthe h istoricalwsy whichunbe compared with it. lmust observo by ths

nxsro atcar. AND L I TERAR Y 1 760

way that the vouche r g iveh fo r the truth of this

histo ry, by King Stanislaus, ough t no t to be con

sidered as of unlimited autho rity. I t I S asserted

that the err-monarch did not g ive his testimonywith out restriction. Atleast, I am info rmed by a

womanwho was present at various times,whenthe

History (y Charles the 1:0t was read to Stanis

laus, that, though he exclaimed warmlyt infavour of

the truth o f some parts, he struck h is foot against

the groundas if fretted with the misrepresentations

inothers . Menare devoted to be ing led eternallyinto erro r. Th e appro bati on o f the King o f

Poland, inserted inthe preface to th e histo ry o f the

Ca r,willbe to posteri ty anunanswerable argument

infavour o f M. de Voltaire’s veracity.

I f this g reatmanhad possessed true and leg i s

timate talents fo r writing h isto ry, we sh ould see it

very plainly in his Essay on GeneralHistory.

Th is Essay is an excellent book to put into the

hands o f youth'

, to inspi re them w ith alove of justice , o f humanity, and o f benevolence ; but itcannot be called the wo rk o f a histo rian. Histo ryrequi res a genius o f a yery p ro found and serious

cast; the lightness , th e ease , the grace wh ich renderM. de Voltaire the most seductive o f ph iloso

phers, aud ,the first beLespri t of his age, do no t:

suit the d ignity o f h istory. That rapidity o f stile

even, wh ich may be delightfuling iving the des

cription o f a battle,'

o r in sketch ing a picture ,cannot be long continued

'

withont producing a

bad'

efl‘

ect; it accords illwith , common narration.The proper march ofi histo ry is solemnand com

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m sroarcar. and LITERA RY 1 760

si onally a

‘

certaiulanguor, no traces o f wh ichare

discernible inany of his o ther productions.Read , fo r instance, the fiallowing pa sag e

After the campaign of 1 702, he would have

Sheremets and the other oflicers who had distin

gnished themselves enter Moscow in triumph,All the prisoners, made inthe course o f the

campai gn,marched inthe traino f th e conquer

crs. Reihte them wees carried the Swe di sh

ens igns and standards with the colours o f the fri

gate takenuponLake Pe ipus. Pete rlaboured himself inthe pre parations fo r th is ceremony, as hehad laboured in the ente rprises they were destined to celebrate .

” Thi s passage I conside r asw

willfind many others inthe same stile .

He ought to have passed rapidly over the

events of the war wh ich we had read with much

more advantage inthe h istoryof Charles the twelfth ,and to have beendifiuse uponevery thing wh ich

might contribute towards displaying the genius of

Peter ; this i s whatwe seek inreading hi s histo ry.

The descriptiono fthe country is gi venina very

common-place stile, and some of the m arks onNaturalHisto ry are not those of a de ep philoso

pher. Allthat conerus the histo ry o f the princess

without the strongest emotions hear the fitriom

soldiers, who had just cut 03 t the float.

1 760 m oms i nnm onoras .

and the hands of their so vere ign, demand, with a

loud vo ice, the young Peter ; no r canwe see th is

ch ild arrive , conducted by women, carrying-inh is

arms the image o f th e Holy V irg in, withoutbe ingdeeply afl

'

ected . Y et these pictures are no t inanyway to be compared with the death of Germani

cus, the arrivalo f h is ashes at Rome , and others.

The descriptiono f the manners o f the Samo iedes

i s again a part wh ich interests us very strongly.In general, however, the reflections are trivial,common, and too much . interspersed IWith anti thesis ; nor cat) I endure th e autho r’s launching out

w ith the vehemence he sometimes w e againstrobscore and coutemptible antagonists.

The subject of the Fai r Penitenl, cele brated

hy the English Tragedy , which'bears th is title , was

brought fo rwards , unsuccessfully, about ten years

ago , onthe theatre at Paris . M. Colardeau has

made asecoud attempt atacquiring its. reputation

among us, aud although much has been said

against his tragedynhe perfo rmance of it has mato a certain-number of times. Th is young poet

commenced h is theatri calcaree r, some years ago ,hy the tragedy of AM , and r cenfess fim 1

d id not thenfo rm any great idea o f hi s talents

h is new attempt has made me retractwith pleasure

ajudgmentwh ich pe rhaps was too seve re . I t is

not thmme planolfh rs tnge dy is well-arranged. 110?that hi s eharaete rs m allequally welldrawnnor

'

ma'

ronron.

"

AND ur e a/tar 1 760

that there is any one scene wh ich canbe pro

nonnced decidedly welldone . Onallthese po ints

we might,w ithout injustice , censure the tragedy of

Calid a severely ; but to atone fo r sti ch faults ,

there are beauties o f the very h igh est d escripti on,

and iti s Uponthese that!found my ho pes o f whatWemay intime e x pect from the auth o r.

Epistle to M. Laurent, upon the . artfficial

arm which he had invented, by tae d bbé Delille .

Much has been said in commendation o f this

e pistle ; much m ore ough t-to be said incommea

dationof the hero whom it:celebrates. The ar

tificial arm o f M. Laurent perfo rms almost all

th e functions o f the natural'

arm. No t only can

i tbe’

used to assist ineating and drinking , and inmo st other

'

occasions whe re the arm i s wanted , but

it canevenbe made to write . I t i s sufli cient that

any one who has been so unfo rtunate as to lo se anarm has a Very small stump left, M. Laurentfastens hi s mach ine to it, so as to supply th e defi

‘

ciency ; i ts differentmo vements are perfo rmed bymeans o f cat-gut strings. Several e xperimentshave beenmade w ith it befo re the King , and all

who have seenthem are astonished at the inven

tion. Th is ingeni ous mechanist has g ive'

n‘ proo fs

o f h is talcum in the invention of several o ther

pieces of machinery.

The histo ry o f m demo iselle Corne ille ihas‘ made much talk i ng some

' time put. Her father'

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8 14 arsroarcu. AND L I TERA RY 1760

ofl'

ers being refused, those who had beenthe occa

siono f th e refusal, would have beendeenwd by thewo rld bound to comPeusate the loss to her, they

atlength couseuted to send her at once to Dehcee

and perd ition. Envy has, as usual, endea

voured to detract from the gene rosity o f M. de

Voltaire , wh ile the admirers o f th e ph ilo sopherhaveex tolled it to the skies . He might undoubtedly have afl

‘

orded h is protectionto the lady with

less ostentation, and if, by chance , he should here

after take ad islike to the th ing , and not g ive he r a

suitable provisi on fo r life , he willonly have mad eh er mo re unha

ppythanif he had lefi her inindi

would noth ave beenthought of, but fo r the nice

of throwing odinm onthe character o fth is cele

brated man.

With in the last week we have beenputin

po ssession of Jean-Jacques Rousseau’

s wo rk on

Education; it is infain-large volumes . Of course

itmakes a g reat dealo f talk, aud it is said that

the Parliamentmenaces the aatho r with a prosecution fo r the professionof faith which he hasintroduced. I t is indeed scarcely po ssible thatintolerance and b igotry canpass over so admirablean

'

occasion for tormenting a celebrated write r,and it is very probable that Ronsscau may be

obliged to quit France . This hold and eloquentauthor of puadox eg hupuhlilhed inHolhnd, a

1 760 unuo ras A ND.

ANECDOT” . 3 15

Treatise onthe SocialContract, wh ich is no t to beprocured at Paris ; i t is sai d to he a hundred timesbold er thanthe work oneducation. I must, howe ver, read it carefully befo re I pretend to writeonthe subject.

appearance o f M . Bousseau’

s wo rk onEducati onconldnotfailsoou'to b reak out. . Uponthe muds itionof the Advocate-General, the Parliamenthas

.tence i s dated the ninth o f th ismonth . butR ous

r Th i s w riter, so celebrated for h is eloquenceand fo r h is singularity, lived at

‘

the distance o f three

leagues from Paris, ina little towncalkd Mont.

mo rehcy, butat presentEoguieu, because it is the

capitalof the duchy of that name , which belongsto the house o f Condé. The valley, wh ich ex tendsalong the foot o f the slo pe

'

ouwhi ch th is townstands , to the river Seine , i s one o f the prettiestspots inthe ne ighbourho o d of Paris. It is a gar

deno f severalleagues, filled with delightfulcoautry

-houses, and is famous fo r che rries and other

fruits . Justw ithout the li ttle townof Moutmo

rmcy is a chi teauwhich belongs, I th ink, to the

Duchess de'

Cho iseul; but the possessionof which ,for h is life , has beenpurchased by the Marshal

Duke do Luxembourg . During the four years that

3 16 ms'

roarcar. AND LITERARY

‘JeanJaques has resided inth ese parts, he has occu

p ied alte rnately a smallh ouse of h i s own inthe

townand an apartment at the Duke’

s chateau.

He has fo rsakenallhi s fo rme r friends, th e ph ilo

soph icalpartof the community, and has replaced

th em by pe rsons o f the h ighe st rank. I willnot

decide whether h e was a gaine r o r a lo ser by th ischang e, but I believe he was as happy atMont

morency as a manwith so much vanity, and so

much bile , can e ver h ope to be . In,thc soc iety

wh ich h e fo rmerly frequented, he found friendsh ipand esteem ; but the reputationo f some o f th em,

and stillmo re the supe rio rity o f talents inothers,

wh ich he could notbut feel,mightrende r the ir so

ciety painfulto h im. AtMontmo rency h e re igned

without a rival; h e enjoyed , w ith out any alloy,the incense o ffered h im by some o f the mo st distin

guish ed characters inthe country ; not to mentiona crowd of charming women, who we re eager to

pay him homage . The character of singularityalways succeeds, inth e end , wi th those who have

sufficient courage and perseverance to adhere to it

stead ily. JeanJeques Rousseaupassed the fo rmerpart o f h is life invili fy ing and decrying the great,and h e now d iscovers thathe never found real

friendsh ip o r virtue ex cept among th em. Thesetwo e x tremes were equally philosophi c ; inamusing

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ars'

roatcar. AND trrsas ar 1 766

Illustrious citiz en, and co so vere igno f Geneva,sinde a part o f the

_

sovere ignty of the republicresides inyou, willyoupermit

'

me' '

td’

r‘

epresentthat, notwithstand ing the severity of your principles, youcannotvery wellrefuse to a so ve

re ign'

prince the courtes ies due to awater-carrier;and ifyouhad replied to acivilcompliment, made

youby the latter, ina manne r equally rude andbrutal, youwould have bad to repro ach yourselfwith amostmisplaced insolence . Since he has

beenintimate at the chéteauo f Montmo rency, hehas takento abusing the ph ilo sophers as much as

he fo rmerly abused the Great. I know notwh e

ther the latter defend the ph ilo soph ers as warmlyas they have ofi enbeendefended by them.

Rousseauhas beenunfo rtunate almo st allh is

life :he should have complained o f h is fate , and

h e has complained o f men. Th is injustice is byno means uncommonwhere great pride is unitedwith g reat timidity. Persons of thi s descriptionsuffe r incontemplating the mo re pro sperous situations of the ir ne ighbours, and do not see that

others be ing unhappy would make no change to

the ir ownfate . They flatter those with whom theylive 1ndaily intercourse , and repay themselves fi tth is constraint by giving vent to reproaches aghihitmankind. I ownthat I havenionOf tho se who are

species ; we may almostbe ing very uncharitable,inthe ir ownex pectations. I cannotmyself bout

1 760 anne xes AND anscno ras. 3 19

o f a very happy lot, I could easily make outalonglist o f grievances, some of which willprobablyhave a considerable influence uponmy fate throughlife ; but ne ith e r can I d issemble to myself thatthey are almo st allto be ascri bed to untoward cir

cumstances ; I should wrong my. fellow-creatum

ve ry much , we re I to assert that malignant feelingtowards me individually have had any th ing to dowith th em. I must say, onthe contrary, with greatself-satisfacti on, that] have ne ver ex pe rienced fromthe greater part o f mankind any th ing butkindm s, and a de sire to serve and promote my iatercets ; if th is has no t beenthe case universally,if I have been occas ionally the mark at wh ichsome malignities have been aimed . to th is I can

oppose great numbe rs who have gene rously interested themselves fo r my prosper ity and advanw

ment, and who m m to have placed a part of theirownhapp iness in seeing me happy . I am per

sueded that every manwh o is reasonable inhise x pectations,‘ and who is des irous o f renderingstrictjustice to h is fellow-creatures, would say the

same . I am evendoubtfulwhether tho se who are

placed inelevated stations , and are consequently

more ex posed to the shafts o f envy and jealousy,

kind ; few mendo illfrom the mo re love of d o ing

rive frompenecuting fanindivi dualwho canne ither

( One ef MaRuusseau’

sw i m py

ntsroatcar. anna rena“ 1 ,60

been that he'

had attained the age o f fo rty befo re

he had any idea of hi s owntalents . Inh is youth

he learne d fo r some time the trade o f anengraver ;

h is fathe r, who was a-watchmaker, having had the

mi sfortune to killaman, was obliged to fly from

Gene va, and abandonh is ch ildren. JeanJaques

was takeninto the pro tectiono f awomano f some

rank inSavoy,by name Madame deWarens. She

made him abjure the Protestant relig ion, and' took

uponherself h is education. Th is lad y had a great

passionfo r alchymy, and ruine d herself by i t; she

i s , I believe, stillalive , and ing reat po ve rty . Fate

having , I know not ho w, conducted R ousseauto

Parisyhe attach ed h imself to M. deMontaigu, wh o ,”

being appo inted ambassado r to-Venice , carried him

th ither as h is secretary. The ambassado r is anyth ing rather thana mano f talents h imself, and heconsequently could not d isco ver that h is secretary.

had any ; at th is very moment he is allastonishni ent at the reputationRousseauhas acqui red , andsays , with the utmo st naive“, that he never saw

any thing inhim wh ich gave promise‘

of it. These

two men, not having any so rt o f analo gy -the onewith the other , soon separated inrecipruéald is

content.'

Rousseaureturned to -Paris ind igent, unknown, ignorant o f the resources wh ich he hadwith inh imself, seeking in the mo st forlorn

’

aud

outcast state the means o f keeping himself frombe ing starved . He devo ted h imself, at th is period,to music and poetry ; he published a d issertationUponamethod, wh ich he had hi inself invented, of

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.nmomw AND a rm s? 1 760

The philompherDiderot, with whom he lived

ingreat friendshi p at that time , was the firat-to

openhis eyes to his realtalents, whenthe Academyat Dijonpro posed its fam°ns questionupontheinfluehce o f letters and the sciences onmo rals.

This subject Rousseau treated ina Dissertationwhich first establi shed h is literary fume , and wh ich

gave h im the turnibr singularity he has ever since'

afl’ectbd so strohgly. Tillthenhehad beengallant,v

’

drsposed to be co x combical, a great complimenter,even

‘

honied inh is speech , and fatigt'

ling from be,

ing always onthe hunt‘

fo r some g racefulturn.

Allona suddenhe‘

ass'

ume d the tone and manner

o f a'

complete cynic, and, never having any thingnatural inhis characte r, went from one ex cess to

ai moth er. But-ia aiming h is sarcasms around h ini ,B e was always cautions towards th ose with whom

h e lived, and amid allh is causti city stillretained

a tincture o fthat refinement, and thatart o fmak

ing compliments, which he had befo re so much

studied - this was abo ve all conspicuous inthe

Inassuming thelivery of ph ilosophy he quittedMadame Dupin, and took to copying music, as a

means of getting h is livelih ood, and he said he

sh ould abjure every o ther ; fo r i t was always a

mania o f h is, among many others,‘

to abuse the

trade of anautho r, though he was indebted fo rh is fam¢ to that alone . I strongly advised him

tataho a cofi'

ee-house inthe Place of the Palais

Royal. The‘

idea amused us for along time ;

uano las ‘

AN” ax ecno rz s.

itwasno tmo re ex travagant. thanmany o f h is'

own,

and had th is advantage o ve r h is own, that i twas a

chearfulidea, and one Which '

promised h im a com:

fo rtable maintenance. AllParis would have ftc

quented the co des-house otJeanJaquesallmm ean;

i twould have beenthe re so rt of allthe mo st distin

guishcd’characters inthe literary wo rld :but thi s

mania, having someth ing m itwhich mightbe use

ful, was too sens ible to be adopted by the citi z en

o f Geneva. He went to make a visit to h is owncountry, whence he returne d inabout six weeks

during h is stay there, he quitt'

ed the RomanCu

tholic relig ion, and became againaProtestant. Ath is return, h e passed two o r th ree years inthe ao

ci ety of h is fnends, as happy as he could be , con»

po sing bo oks, and fancying h imself only a copyerof music ; but itwas h is fate no sooner to feelh is

happiness thanto quarrelwith it. Madame deI’

Epinay having a small house inthe fo rest o f‘Montmo rency

"

, he teaz ed her fo r a long time to”

lead it to h im, saying that he could no tlive inthat

h o rrible Paris, and that he had no other asylumagainst menbut the woods, and perfect solitude.

Such a life never cbnld be less suited to any onethanto a personwith a brainso heated as h is, andwith a di spo siti on at once so impetuous and as“melancholy. He became anabsolute“Vi ew"the solitude o f the place h eated h is

”J

Jsuch a degree , and soured h is character so enti relyboth towardw andti iwards his friends, that

nrs'ro s lcas AND mre aaav 1 760

the fo rest, he quarrelled w ith allhumankind. I t

was thenthat he went to live at Montrno rcucy,where he has remained to the present moment,enjo ying a reputati onwo rthy o f h is talents and

his eccentricities .

Such are the principalepochs inthe caree r o f

this celebrated writer Up to the present moment.The account of his private and domestic life

would not be less curious ; but it is inscribe d in

the memo ries o f two o r th ree o f his select ti ieuds ,

who ' willnever inscribe it any where else . I t is

said that he has passed his latte r days inconvo i

sions of despair and g rief at the consequences of

h is wo rk. He th ought h imself out o f the reach

o f perse cution, be ing connected with so many per

sons o f the first d istinction. He neve r conce ived

that the parliament would make a serious af

fair o f it. I know h im wellenough to be assured

that he willbe inconsolable fo r the rest of h is lifeatno tbe ing any longer ina country, the evils andabuses o fwhich he was always e x aggerating . They

say he has taken the road o f Switz erland . He

willnotg o to Geneva, fo r one o f h is inconsisten

cies is to ex tol that place to the skies wh ile he

secretly detests it, and to love Paris passionatelywh ile he lo ads i tw ith e xe crations.

I t 13 astonish ing that none o f h is new hi enda

could fo resee the efl'

ect likely to be produced bytheProfessionof Faith of the Savoyard Carats, ata moment whenso many i dle peo ple and fools

have no other ex istence or occupationbutwhat is

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msroarcs r. AND L I TERARY 1760

Fo r my part, I say, '

after the ex ample'

o f Jesus

Christ, Lo rd , pardonM. Omer Joly de Fleury,fo r he knows no twhathe says

-Infact, if anyone were fairlyto e x plainto h im the true meaningo f the abominable doctrine he has advanced in

th is passage , I have no doubt that he would blushwith shame and surprise . Th is proves that our

mag istrates would do better; evenfor thei r ownreputations, if they were to get the ir requisiti onsdrawnup by some philo so pher, thanto continue

repeating infullparliament, lessons suggested by

bigotted wo rks, o r atrabilarious jansenists.

The twenty pages whi ch precede the Curate’

s

Profession'

of'Faith, io

lM. Rou’

sseao'

s i book, are

writtenw ith infinite art ;'

the autho r has the re

d isplayed the greatextentof his talents . The first

part o f the Professionof limit]: itself, is dry andh eavy, and contains no th ing but the mere le ssons

o f ph ilosophy that we are taught inthe scho ols.

The Curate only become s interesting when he

enters uponthe Ch ristianreligionand revelation

but never do we feel inany thing s aid by'

the

citi z en of Geneva, the impressions o f truth and

nature. What pro bability is there, for instance,thatamanof sense, like the Curate , should make

th is long pro fessiono f faith to ali bertine scholar,who could never have patience and

,

curio sityenough to listen to h im, and who certainly was

no t competent to understand ing what he'

said .

The ancients neve r fallinto th ese incong ruities,and thi s is in great measure, the

' cause o f that

1 760 narrows urn snacno 'rns. 327

charm which secretly attaches th e mind“Headingeven the deepest o f their wo rks ; the imag intfibni s always inte rested . Inthe third imlume,

‘ there is

also a fine ex ho rtationfromthe governo r to hispupil, just at the perio d whenthe latter attains the

age o f manhood. The sallies which occur everywhe re in this discourse , are very grand . But I

must enter mo re at large into a discussi ono f so

liar i deas onthe subject of education, makeschoiceof a pupi lwhom he calls Emilius. I twouldnot

do , however, to compile a mere didactic wo rk.

filled vvith rules, principles, and max ims ; all]thesewould be exh ibited with much mo re effect unde rthe form o f a history. That is to say, after having

givenanample view of the character of his pnpil,it was nemesary to sketchahe h istory, 01 the

flction, of his education, without ever b ringingfor-Ward any of his methods, as principles o r

max ims which he was’

seelring to inculmte . Whenwe come to the applicationof h is rules, we shall

only find them just to a certaindeg ree , for what

suits admirablyWellwith one d ispo si tion, willnot

suit'

atanwith another, and there willalways beasg reat am ietyo f d ispo sitions to manage , as thereare pupils to edumte ; the d idactic tone wouldtherefo re not have suited a wo rk wh ich aimed at

such an object as he had invi ew. Inadoptingth e narrative fo rm, no answe r canbe made to factsnarrated hh tbricallyWi thout precepts o r pedantry,

uxse oucu, AND L I TERARY 1 769

provided the'

writer has genius sofiie ie dt to esta

blishes perfect co rre5pondence betweenthe ,eharac

ter. gziVQn-fto'

th e pupil, and the metho d followed

in. h is education, .and ~that it is made to appear

clearly. that. the method to be recommended has

produced the lefi‘

ects ascribed to i t.

Such i s st least the manne r inwh ich I had‘

long.ago .. conceived the idea of . writing a Treatise

uponEducation, the successful ex ecution o f it

might a

pe rhe p'

s haste heen'

1abo ve my powe rs , but it

would no t have beenabove tny'

com‘age to engage

in the ~ attempt, had o ther caresmud oo ccupstio h s

leftme th e le isure fo r . i tt_

1 purposed to ex h ibit

a charming young couple, united by the tenderestti es, after having . experienced a long series o f

obstacles to the completiono f

enjoying the greatest happine ss, inreciprocally

lo ving and being beloved . But.

their happ iness

lasts only for amoment; th e husband, inboooming a fathe r

, becomes the mostwretched of men,by,losing thewife he adore s ; nothing prevents h is

falling ‘

a victim to h isg rief, but the thought o ff the

pledg e which , dying, she .left;to his cares . Here

h e‘

is then, alone inthe world, with no other tie

but th is,child. His loss eEeets a totalchange in

h i s character ; he quits his places, to retina intothe country, and the re , when

“the violence of his

g rief has, after a wh ile , yielded to a so ft:andtender melancholy, consecrates his whole time, h iswhole cares to the education o f h is son. The

histo ry of this son, to the _age of eighteen, was to

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H I STOR I CAL AND LI TERARY

cally that a father educated his sonin such, o r

such , a manner.

I t may he remarked that, acco rding to this

idea, as many h isto ricaltreati ses uponeducati on

may be writtenas the re are domestic situati ons to

furnish the ground-wo rk of them. Thus the h istoryof the father. and .mothe r o f a numerous familymight be compo se d , and this h isto ry, approachingnearer to the generaland commonsituations wh ich

occur inlife , might be rende red much more in

structi ve thanwhat I had imag ined. The re i sno

occasion to say . that the cond iti onand characte rs

o f the personag es in these treatises ought to . be

defined w ith as much care and precisionas inanyothe r species o f novel. Wi thout this, the re couldbe

,no appearance o f truth , and they would failof

be ing as instructive as they might be . Common.

place max ims do not instruct,— instmcti oumust

be drawnfrom ex amples and h isto ry. I f max ims

and sayings could form the mind to wisdom, we

should have as manywi se meninthe wo rld, as we

how have th e ir opposite s ; for o f max ims end saying s the re is no scarcity inany country.

i

We hear

no th ing else allour lives, whethe r inour churches,inour theatres, inour colleges, o r in

'

our domestic

institutions ; the taste for preach ing is a most

uni versalone, and youknow how-much we are the

better fo r it. To add ona wo rd mo re respectingmy young man, I make h im die at the sge o f

eighteen, at the momentwhenthe father e x pects

to reap the harvest of allhi s tails and anx ieties ;

1 760 traumas Annanecnoras .

for it is always good to put ipeople inmind of‘

th'

e

instability c f our hopes and .our projects. Thi s

g ives greater truth to the picture, at th e same

time . that i t assists the soul, wh ich is do omed to

struggle wi th misfortunes, to hear them with the

g reater patience , and warns tho se who are in

and moderation.

The mo st important, and the most general

remark to he mad e uponeducationi s, that itmust

always be suhiected to the imperfectioninseparablefromeve ry th ing human. Whatever care youmaytake o f your son, be uponyour guard against supposing that you can be his only guid e . That

necess ity wh ich dispose s o fus, that combinationo f

a multitude o f e xte rio r circumstances wh ich are

perpetuated, or renewed, during the whole course

o f ourlives, must ine vitably have . an influenceuponyour pupil, and that fate which ho lds the

father and mother,unde r its controul, mustneces

sari ly have a no less powerful influence o ve r the

ch ild ; we are allunder an invisible hand . Frs

derick, educated by a monk under the canopy of

a throne which had never been shaken, would

perhaps have beenonly an o rdimry man, unidle

king , whose name, unknownto glo ry, would have

had no th ing to distinguish it inthe ch ronicles of

h is ' ti tnes . But bornto a throne wh ich was as

yet to o imperfectly established to be placed out o f

'danger, the So vere igno f a people who se misfo r

tunes beani e h is own, the chief of anarmy, the

~H I STORICAL AND L ITERARY

defeat o fwh ich would have shakenhi s crown, and

not le ss e x po se d h is own personthanthe welfare

o f h is subjects, he was c ompelled by fate , to learn

the g reat art o f re igning ,

'

to be wo rthy

‘

o f h is rank,

to balance the g reatness o f h is dangers by th e

greatness o f h is v irtue s, and'

to present‘

one o f th e

fine st lives that was ever traced by the peno f a

h isto rian.

'

Greece , confined wi th in such narrow

boundaries,'

ao circumscribe d interrito ry, became

anursery o f greatmen, wh ile the widely-e xtended

empire o f Pe rsia could scarcely boast a name

wo rthy o f reco rd . Alllanguished inthatene rvated

country, inindolence and apathy, wh ile inGreece

the great examples thatwere constantly presented

to the eyes o f the youth ex cited inth em the

h ighest vi rtue , inspi red them with th e sentiments

that led to the pe rfo rmance o f the mo st Splendid

and illustrious actions.

Y ouw ill easily judge that anauthor who

could fo rget the influence wh ich bo th public and

private destiny must nece ssarily have uponeduca

tion, would compose but a very ind iflizrenttreatise .

Y ou willjudge further, that ah'

auth o r who, to

shew the succe ss o f h is system, reso rts perpetuallyto a concurrence of circumstances perfectlyunna

tural, wh ich the v icissitudes of humanafliairs would

hardly permit, mustlo se h is time and h is trouble s

No r is it enough thatRousseaue rrs inbo’

th‘

these

ways, he i s not amanto do any th ing by halves,and if to humour h im youhave put fate enti rely ,

out o f the question, o r have o beenwilling to ima

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nrs'roarcar. amp L ITERA RY 1760

travagant and absurd ,systems, and of jnst v iews , ofthings consoling to humannature , and o f satires

and calumnies againstmankind . One great defect

inM. Rousseau is the want o f truth and nature ,

ano ther, and a stillgreater, is to be always wantinginsincerity. His reasonings are compo sed of a

multitude of truths and amultitude o f falseho o ds

We cannot promise ourselves to

re fute the latter with success, and yet every atten

tive reade r must see th ei r folly and vanity. This

i s the reasonwhy our c itiz ennever could pe rsuade

any body thatletters are the scourge o f mankind,that the theatre i s the schoolo f co rruption, that

man i s made fo r a savage life and not to live in

soci ety; wh ile, for the same reason, h e has scarcelyfound anyadversarywo rthy of h im We admire h is

talents, butwe are sorry that he doesno t make a

better use of them. We may also say thatRous

seauis always inthe right, whenothermenare in

the wrong , and always inthe wrong whenethermen are in the right; because h e seeks less to

follow th e truth, than to say th ings difl’erently

from other people, and prescribe differently from

whatthey prescribe . We are astonished to find bythe side of anidea fullo f elevationand of aninex

pressible charm, an absurdity wholly devoid of

commonsense.

We may, I believe, nearly lay it downas acertainty, that e very thing inhi s book concerningeducation, is grounded uponfalse principles, and

iswhollyfutile . Not only does he take indescriba

1 760 usuo rns A ND anecnore s.

ble pains to teach his Emilias, even inhi s ten

de test years , th ings wh ich a ch ild , though he be

ever so much neglected , learns of itself, -no t onlydoes one preceptde stroy ano ther, wh ile

”

the auth o r

contradicts h imself at every page, but I defy anyone to employ with success any of the meth ods

prescribed by h im. He says indeed at eve ry mo .

ment: My Emilius is so , and so , he finds in him

the most enlarged views, th e mo st sublime senti

ments, the mo st wonderfulconduct, butwe never

see how allthese wonde rs are the result of h is

preceptor'

s system, or the necessary consequence o fthe means employed to rende r him anunique . Infact the greate r part of M. Ronsseau's principles

are little conformable to humannature , and h is

practices are so puerile thatwe are astonished, as I

have said , how amanof genius and talents canfallinto absurdities so e x travagant. I f a person

o f discernment can find inhis mo des of institu

tionone single view that is just,useful,o r ph iloso

ph ic,mankind must'

hithe rto no t have had common

sense ; and we must all learn o f the Citiz en o f

Geneva to produce , with facultie s such as ours,

effects wholly d ifl'

e’

reutfrom tho se which have beenregarde d , ti llnow that we

’

are bette r taught,'

as

confi rmable to the nature o f things .

Another th ing no tless curious, is to see thi s

writer every where preach ing up the strictest adhe

rence to truth , ye t constantly employing artifice

and falscho od to excite his pupilto do what he

requires Bf him. If'

Rousseaubelieves that it is

nrsroa c L AND uneas y 1760

so easy to concealthe truth from ch ildren, ,to mis

lead th em w ith respect to the characte rs o f tho se

aboutthem and their own realsituation, w ith res

pect to what they can, and what ibey cannot do,

he may be assured that a matter obvious to th e

most common o bserve r has escaped h im. We

canno t have beeninthe hab it o f intercourse withmany ch ildren, without see ing wi th whatastonish

ing justness they judge every th ing that interests

th em,every bo dy that is inany way directly con

earned with them, and how usele ss it would be ta

attemptto dece ive them .ia th is respe ct.

Emilio s must thenbe cons idered , like allth e

other wo rks o f Rousseau, not as a book usefulto

mankind, notas the wo rk o f a ph ilo sopher with

whomwe should like to pass our lives , to ph iloso

ph iz e with him, and rece ive instructionfrom h im,

but as animmense collectiono f desultory matter,

which leads the reader to reflect upon a,great

variety o f subjects. As a wo rk the autho r o f

wh ich has w ith infinite art, by the assistance o f a

stile fullo f strength and fire . found means to in

terestus, evenwhenhe goes ever so much astray o r

is e ver so insincere -as a wo rk the character o f

which w illalways be precious, one wh ile from the

talents o f the autho r, another from h is singulari

ties. The lasttwo volumes appear to me infinitelysuperior to the others.

The SocialContract i s said to be precisely o f

the same stamp ; to be obscure and embarrassed in

its principles, oftenfutile and flat, often bold,

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arr-reason. um sm arter 1 7&

Stanislaus, K ing o f Poland; was intended to be

acted at the French Theatre . M. de Sauvignyhas no t hi therto presented the public with anything but li ttle tug itive pieces, anacre ontic odes

and other trifles, wh ich do notlead to the presump .

ti onthat h e is capable of handling a subject of

such importance. Since M. de Voltaire failed in

treating it, from want o f depth and gravi ty, it is

no tverymuch to be ho ped thatM. de Sauvigny can

succeed . I f he may rhyme with facility, h is poetryis so light, so devo id o f i deas, thatwe may justlyimpute to h im the sterile abundance wh ich the

philo sophe r o f Sans-Soucio discovers inthe wri tings

o f the Cardinalpoet. Now the re could scarcely be

fimnd another ‘ subjcct that re qui res ideas equally

grand and profound with the Death of Socrates .

“

Be th is as i tmay, M. de Sauv igny'

s piece was ready

to appear; the day fo r its be ing pe rformed was evenannounced ; whenaninhibitionagainst playing it

was recei ve d from the police . Th e reasonass igned

inthe wo rld is, that itwas fullof allusions wh ich

might be applied to Monse igneur Chri stopher de

Beaumont Arch bishop of Paris, and th e lo rds

of parliament, as reflections uponthe hatred and

animo sity with which eve ry th ing inthe shape of

ph ilosophy is at present pursued. I th ink that

the pre scriptionof Rousseau has contributed very

much to th e suppression o f this piece ; i t was

feared that’

the p itwould make continualapplica

ti ons to the pass ing events o f the day . It is said

that the author has permissionto print h is piece :

Poli ce appear to have beenWellfounded.

M. Prosper Jolyot dcCrebillon, o f the FrenchAcademy, isjust dead, atthe age of eighty-nine orninety years. This trag ic po et enjoye d ahigh res

putation, wh ich he owed less to h ismerit than69

having hadM. de Voltaire'

as h is competitorimmptheatricalcareer. Dank envy and base jealousydelighted te elevate Crebillonat the ex pense d h is

ri val, to ex tolh im as th e realtrag ic genius , withtheywould allow no th ing mo re to ,

M. de Voltairethan that he was a pleasing writer. We heard

Greb illon’

s traged ies constantly extolled .Wh ile Y elptaire

’

s we re constantly played . I do notsay that

Crehillonf

s tragedies are devo id o f meri t, hut I dosay, thatne ither as atrag ic genius, no r under anyo ther po int of view, is he to be compared .

to M. de

Voltaire ; and th is opinionI have no . doubt wilhbc

confi rmed by posterity . Eventhe rfinestr of Cre

hillon’

s pie ces,Ab m md-Thyestes, is scarcely ever

played ; h isElectra was, at its first?appearance , verysuccessfitl. The i s what cannot be said of the

Electra o fM. de Voltaire , and the latter certainlyis very far from being with out defects ; yet,suchas

si t is, I ampersuaded that it willfinseueibly disgust

the public with the puerile and impertinent romance

uponwh ich the Ele ctra o f M.,de Crebi llon is

founded; and which I ‘ defy any person o f g ood

taste to sanction. Rkadami ftw and Z ambia has

Z 2

mwomcu. AND m zuu 1 761

und oubtedly its beauties ; but ..the plo t is so ia

volved, that it is impo ssible fo r any body to under

stand it. These th ree are the only pieces of M. de

Crebillouthat are -at present ever acted.

I f we seek the realcause o f allthe ex trava

gancies and eccentricities o f JeanJaquesRousseau,w e shallfind i t inthe character of that idealch i‘

mericalmanwhich he has created to himself, and

h i s substituted eve ry where for the naturalman,such as he has ex i sted fo r betweenfive and six

thousand years . I s itastonishing that, having no .

‘

th ing but a ficti tious modelinhi s head, he has ai

ways failed intruth and nature , whenever he has

p retended to write uponman, uponh is mo ralrela

tions, uponh is rights and uponh is duties , I f anyone canhave just pretensions to vilifying and re

viling a class of be ing s to whom he canne ver be

long , M. Rousseauhas reasonto calumniate philo

wphers ; he willalways be regarded as anelo quentwriter, never as a pro found ph ilosopher.

He is not the first pe rson, however, that has

tortured h imself to establish that ch imeri calstatew h ich writers onnaturaland politicalrigh ts have

been pleased to denominate the state of na

ture , and to ex tol the advantages ascribed to it.

No thing can be mo re puen'

le than the systems

Which have been fo rmed on th is head . I f we

knew for ce rtainthat the human race had li ved

for severalages inth is state , wh ich, on, the con

tm y, we may be perfectly assured never did

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m roatcar. sunm w ar 1 762

thousands o f years”

, it is evident thatthe ti ve state s

are equally confo rmable to humannature . AllI

cangrant to th e ch imera o f our write rs is, that th is

state of nature was one of pure unmi x ed felicity,

and that the state of so c iety is one replete with

misery andmisfo rtune but, insho rt, ithas resulted

from the o the r, and i twas therefo re impo ssible that

man should no t fallinto it. I know noth ow to

reasonagainst facts. Emilias , at the age o f five

and-twenty, enjoys , thanks to the liberality o f M.

Rousseau, allthe ad vantag es o f the mo st brilliant

youth ; but nothing canpreventh is arri ving one

day at th e age o f decrepi tude , whenallthese ad

vantages must be lost. Thus to reproach the hu

manSpecies w ith the state of soc iety is as ph iloso

ph ic as to arraignanold manof six ty fo r havingex changed hi s fine brownhair fo r grey .

But do we indeed , in the whole hi story o f

man, find any traces o f th is state o f nature wh ich

our docto rs o f that sch o olhave beenpleased to

represent to us in colours so magnificent. Not

only are we absolutely ignorantwhethe r manever

did live insuch a state , but, whenwe compare itwith the knowledge wh ich we have beenable toacqui re uponth e subject,

‘

We have a right to io ihr

that the human specie s never could e x ist init fo r

a single moment. We see clearly that man, such

as he is represented to us ina state o f nature , is a

ve ry d iffe rent be ing from man, such as we see h imbe fo re our owneyes ; and that such aswe See h imnow, he strongly resembles the species wh ich hib

1 762 m oms A ND anncno '

re s.

to ry hasmade knownto us fo r betweenfive and

si x thousand years . Inwhatever manne r the humanrace may have commenced , I canno t butfeelthata being , feeble, timid , and endowed with ima

ginationlike men, mustevenfrom the firstmoment

of hi s ex i stence have sought the soc iety o f h is

kind, have beenterrified at solitude and darkness,have beenuneasy at th e leastno ise , not have heardeventhe rustling o f the leaves,whenag itated by the

wind, Without shudd ering, w ithout a feeling o f bo re

ro r, and suppo sing eve ry wh ere aninvis ible powe r.Here th enwe have the orig inof relig ionand ao

ciety, arising, no t from the ex cellence , but from

the weakness o f our nature . I feel, farthe r, thatthe passions be ing inseparable from our nature

,

mankind must always have been susceptible of

great virtues, and of great crimes ; and the com

himations of every th ing that enters into our es:

sense be ing infinite , I feelthat it is the prope rtyof our species to be compo sed o f allso rts o f d ispo

eitions and qnmlities, and to be subje cted to the

naturalresults from them. Allthat happens to a

species happens confo rmably to its nature, because

it canno t subsist fo r aninstant out of its nature.

They who have writtencontrary to these princi

ples, have painted an imag inary manwho never

ex isted, and a ch ime ricalcond ition onwhich no

chainof reasoning canbe founded . They have

takenavi ew of manonly onone side, they have

endowed himWith such and such faculties, and

Z 4

msrontcu AND murmur 1 162

fo rgot allo the rs ; th ey have inparticular fo rgot

thatmanhas not such a faculty o r such a facultysingly, but that h e i s a compdun

'

d o f combined

faculties wh ich'

ex ist all. together ; this produces

among th em relations, modificati ons, and combi

nations with out number. Our ph ilosoph ers have

fo r some time pastacted with manasmanyo rganists

act with the i r instruments ; they put mgether dif

ferent combinations o f no te s acco rd ing to the ir

caprice, and suppo se it harmony ; but who will

consider such , as fine compo sers . The Abbé deCond illac, in h is Treatise on Sensations, and

M . Rousseau, after h is example, inh is first volume

onEducation, alte rnately g ive and take away the

same senses from a man, ino rder to imag ine results

wh ich have no ex istence but inth e ir ownhollow

heads . But, gentlemen, be so g o od as to consider

thatmanis not ano rgan, that th ere is notanote

to be heard inh im so absolutely s ingle as that the

others shallhave no part in the effect produced .

Thus our docto rs have sometimes represented man

as ina state o f enti re inno cence, but insulated ;sometimes in society, load ed wi th crimes, sur

rounded with ho rro rs o f everykind . These two

p ictures are equallyunph ilo soph ic but they have

pro duced th e finest, the most eloquent sallies

against the human species, the most sublime lamentations o ver its crimes and mi sfo rtunes. Im

‘

mo rtalDean'

of Dublin, sublime Swift! I recur

againto thee l—A single stroke o f thy humour, a

single line oftenof thy writings, has more salt,

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nrsronxcat A ND L r'

renaar 1 762

I t is, howe ver, on these foundations thatM.

Rousseau,has establish ed hi s Treati se onEduca

tion. We must not then be astonish ed if hi s

methods are so ch imerical, if his means are so little

inconfo rmi ty with humannature , if his de tails areso filled wi th falsh

‘

oo ds, if his principles are so

vague and unfruitful, if he puts fo rth such amulti

tude o f assertions bold , gratuitous and devo id of

commonsense. They have alltheir o rigininthat

False and idealman, wh ich the autho r has formed

to himself, and wh ich never ex isted . He would

have the first educationpurely negati ve : i f that

were notabsolutely impo ssible , the principle wouldbe , not the less, absolutely false . The analogywhi ch M. Rousseau incessantly employs to esta

blish the ex istence of the gene rallaws of nature ,

pro ves i rrefutably that the re is one wh ich d ictates

the early cultivationOf the child‘s powers . Give

a tree in its infancy aneducationpurely negativ e ,and youwillsoonse e it bend ing under a pro fusion

o f branche s that e x haust it; the evilWillevenbe

the greater inproportionas the sap is strong and

vi go rous . M. Rousseau, beside s , proscribes eve ryhabit, whether go od o r bad . Following h is taste

fo r antitheses, he says that the only good habi t, is

no t to take any; as if ananimalsuch as man, the

ve ry essence of whose nature is to be addicted to

habits, could at hi s cho ice cease to ha‘ve them; in

fact, would no t a ch ild o f twelve years old, if he

could have attained that age, living by himself in

the Woo ds, away from allh is species, have eon

H ERO !” I ND m om

of exterio r o bjects and the circumstances wh ich

result from them, compelus ina manner that no

masters o r tutors caneve r counteract, to adopt

numberless hab its ; the only care o f our masters

should be , to end eavour to make us contract tho seo f truth , of vi rtue, and of courtesy. Inano ther

place , M. Rousseau asserts that the actions of a

child are destitute of mo rality o r immo rality. I f

h e means only to say thata ch ild may w ith per

fect innocence be guilty o f a criminalaction, he

has ex pressed a very common-place idea ina very

vague manner ; a manevenmay be so circmm

stanced . But it i s impo ssible to conce ive a mo ral

be ing atany age soever, commi tting actions desti

tute e ithe r o f 'morality o r immorality ; allthe d il

ference is, that:the mo rality of a ch ild is of a very

d ifi'

erent kind from that o f amanwho has attained

the fullm of his reason. Inthe same place, our

educatiosn'

st condemns ennnlation, confound ing it

purposely with envy and p itifuljealo usy, ino rder

to repro bate it ; h e would substitute fo r it a walk

regulated libe rty. But ask h im what he means byth is well-regulated libe rty, and I ammuch mistaken

if he canattach any reasonable sense to it. Ne

ver talk to your pupil,”he says, o f duty ;

necessity ought to be hi s only curb. Le tme

understand, if youplease , maste r tuto r, h ow these

two ideas are to be separated, and how the one is

more easy to be understood thanthe other. The

i dea o f mce sfi ty and its irrevocahle decrees is one

msr onscu. no m au av 1 769

o f the most ph ilo s0ph ic thatwe have , itappears to

belong to the age o f matured reason. lmprudent

youth and blind passionare revolted at th is idea,

they are perpetually wrestling -againstthe infle x ible

law of necessity, and youwould have a ch ild resign

h imself to i t quietly,— a ch ild to whom yourefuse

alluse o f reason, and who assuredly has no ex po

rience inlife —Whatabsurdity !I t is, h ow ever, uponthese max ims, and others

of a similarnature , that M. Rousseaufounds h is

principles o f education; o r rather he founds no

th ing , because the greater part of hi s principles

are sterile , embarrassed, and canproduce noth ing ;no realtie canbe pe rce ived betweenthem and the

metho ds wh ich he g ive s as resulting from. th em.

He appears to have established them only in,o rder

to decry opinions commonly received , to combat:

rational customs. I t is thus that he draws the

mo st aflecting picture o f the state of nature, and

takes from th is state eventhe ge rm of v ice,only

that he may find a reasonto ascribe allthe , ills, all

the vices o f our actualsituationto ourselves alone ,that he may make them. the result of our o ivn

wo rk. Inconsequence o f th is turnhe would not

have people reasonwith ch ildren, only because theadmirable Locke recommend s it, and that it is in

fact one of themost sensible p rinciples ineduca

tion that can be laid down. But how does he

prove thatWe oughtnotto reasonw ith child ren3

it is by proving thatyououghtno t to impose your

ownreasonings uponth em. But wheuLocke re?

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fi rm nxoanw e “w as ? 1768

groves, weary with it, for, he adds, it is ,much lessimpo rtantthat he should learn, thanthath e should

not be compelled to do any th ing . Th is is one o f

the consequences of th t princ iple of liberty, theefl

'

ects and re sults o fwh ich we seek to penetrate invain. M. Rousseau would not on any account

have e ither compulsiono r restraint employed withhis pupil. I am very ready to allow, that those

who have the care of ch ildrenare enti rely inthe

wrong to break th e ir heads continually, fo r everytrifling neglig ence , or waywardness, and that it

i s a -nice po int to determine how far we ought toresist the o bstinacy wh ich they are accustomed

to shew. Insuch contests, the mind is o ftentoo

muchli chendown, and inbe ing forced to yield upits obstinacy loses its resolution. But what anabsurd ity is it to th ink of .accustoming a be ingwho is to pass h is life under the i rresistible

’

yoke

ofnecessi ty, whonnmtconstantly be contnouled-by

a thousand circumstances wh ich no earthly means

canresist, -what absurd ity is it, I say, to trainupsuch a being with the ideai hat he is never to be

compelle d to d o any thing .

I do not pretend to adve rti o e very passagednthe Treati se s”Education, whi ch appears upentoattack. I new t could see the utility of refutations. They who think have no occasion-fior a

prompte r to tellthem, Gentlemen, th is is anoph ism, th is is true , o r this ifi false -as to fools to

'

po int out the truth to them,to attempt to make

them feelthe defects o f erroneous reasoningr is

1 762 um oras AND ANECDOTES .

most truly lo st trouble . Inmy op inion, there isno th ing more useless thanto refute a book, ex cept

i t be to reply to the refutati ons though the spi rit

o f party willno t be satisfied with th is . I t is essen

tialfo r the suppo rt and cred it o f a party that even

a bad answer, rather thannone , should be made

to a good attack ; since , ifyouare to rmented with

e x agge rated representati ons o f the strokes made

atyou by the enemy, youmust always have it to

say that they we re answered. Butfo r my part, as

I amno t of any party, I am of opinionthat the

end o f eve ry write r oug ht to be to communicate to

the smalland select g roupe o f meno f realtalents

the results o f h is med itations, coufiding them to

the sound judgment o f h is pee rs, at th e same timethat he abandons th em to th e pass ionand the im

becility o f fools. Happy h e, who , escaping the

arrows o f the latter, has written only for persons

equally enlightened and indulgent since indulgence

i s th e ch ild of go od sense and realknowledge.

Intaking my leave o f the Treatise onBMW

ti on1 cannot h elp calling your attention to some

th ings wh ich do not properly belong to the essence

o f the bo ok, butwh ich are o f sutfici ent impo rtance

to g ive them a'

moment'

s consi deration. Some

times we have no occas ionto do more thanpo int

out th e sentimento f the auth o r to make the weak

ness and falshood o f it immed iately felt. At o ther

times h is assertions haveanai r of truth wh ich mayat first dece ive, but

“which cannot stand whenput

to th e proof.

maromear. AND '

L ITERA RY 1 762

M. Rousseauhas, inallh is wo rks, declaimed

vehemently against politeness . I t i s not h is fault

i f we do not regard it as an infamous hypo crisy,much mo re pe rnicious thanthe most decided vice .

Politeness consists inmaking use o f e x aggerations,inemploying fo rms o f speech wh ich he, to whom

th ey are addressed , is neve r supposed to take liter

ally. There is no language inth e wo rld that does

not abound with these fo rms . Romanpoliteness

was certainly very dill’e rent from French ; yet the

Latinlanguage i s full o f these fo rms wh ich the

Romans made use o f familiarly intheir intercourse

with each other. Even savages, tho se belovedch ildreno f the Citiz eno f Geneva, have a polite

ness mo re ex travagant and less naturalthanthat o f

polished nations. See how th e i r treati es abound

with e x agge rations, With fo rms full o f bombastand .

falsho od . What i s to be concluded from

th is i—Nothing , ex cept that o f whatever nature

the soc iety and inte rcourse whi ch subsists amongmen

,may be they cannot continue, they canno t

even beg in, with out recipro cal regards and fo r

bearance ; and whercever these ex ist, there must he

politeness , that is ex agg eration, inthe fo rms o f

speech . No th ing could be more absurd than to

ex pect, o f a be ing o rganised like man, that he

sh ould attach a precise and invariable sense to

every wo rd wh ich chance may lead h im to utter.

Thus Emiline, who says do this, o r do that, instead

of willyoube so oklig ing as to do it, is a ve ryill-bred ch ild

,but he has not fo r that reason a

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1 762 memo ras AND ANECDOTES .

th e utmost alacrity. The Councilo f Berne has

also condemned the wo rks o f th e Citi z en o f Cc

neva, and o rde red the autho r to quit the Canton.

In vaind id the citiz en present a remoustrance

against th is o rde r, he was fo rced to o bey i t, andh e has retired into the princ ipality o f Neufchatel.

There he is then, unde r the pro tectiono f a mo

narch whom h e profe sses to hate , though h e can

have no o ther reasonto assignfo r h is hatred , than

that he se es h im the great o bject o f public admi

ration. Th e re is in h is bo ok a very Violent and

ind i screet passage uponth is subject, and this would

be with the Great Frede rick one reasonmo re fo r

respecting th e mi sfo rtunes o f so eccentric and il

lustrions a writer, inspite o f fo ols and o f h is own

waywardness.

SA RACEN FA BLES .

Fable 1 .

Inth e days o f I sa, th ree menwere travellingtogeth e r. By th e way they found a treasure and it

rej o iced them much . Th ey continued th e i r route

but they were se iz ed with hunger, and one of them

said We want someth ing to eat, butwh o shall

go and seek fo r fo o d —ThatwillI” answered

the second. He departed , he purchased food , but

h e thought with inh imself that he would po ison

th e meats, fo r then, sai d he, my companions willbe

putout o f the way and the treasure willrestwithA 2

me alone. Meanwh ile , during h is absence the

othe r two agreed to killh im, thath is share o f the

treasure migh t be the i rs . He arrived, and they

killed h im acco rdingly ; they eatthe meats thath e

b rought and they died. Thus was the treasure left

withoutanowner.

Fable I I .

One evening after suppe r, my father, mybrothers, my siste rs, andmyselfwere allseated toge

ther round the fire . I meditated fo r some time and

thenopening the holy Ko ranbeganto read aloud,

butmy b ro thers and my sisters fellasleep, my father

alone listened to me . Surpri z ed, I said to him, Myfathe r, is itnotshamefulthatmy brothe rs and sis

ters sh ould fallasleep, and thatyoualone sh ould .

listento me i” —But h e answered :“My sou, 5

"

dear part o f myself, would’

itno t be better that

youshould sleep like them, thanbe vain,*as you

are, o f what youare do ing?

Fable I I I .

A K ing .having condemned one o f h is sub-f

jects to death, th e unhappy v ictim solici ted pardon

invain, the king was inflex i ble . Whenfound that he must pe rish , h is h eart was

h is tongue swelled, and he loaded the mon

reproach es . The monarch saw that th e manspoke , but could not hear h im, and aSked o f one

o f the courtie rs what h e said . Th e ch iirtier re

plied Prince, h e says, that they who practice

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msroarczu. AND m ananr 1 763

enti rely ex hausted . A hundred secret strings be

long ing to th is afl'

ai r have not yet beenstruck, and

if th ey were struck, th e sound emitted would no t in

be trifling .

Letus, fo r instance , ex amine whatso rt of an

argumentmigh tbe drawnfrom the death alone ofd

;th e unfo rtunate father. I f th is man, the advocate? 5might say, murde red h is sonfo r fear he sh ould a;

change h is relig ion, h e must have been a fanatic,q

and one o f the mo st violent o f fanatics . He hé

lieved inGo d , he lo ved h is relig ionmo re thanh is

life , mo re thanthe life o f h is son, and prefe rred

see ing h is son dead to se e ing h im anapo state .

He mustthenhave regarded h i s crime asganact o f

hero ism, and the murde r o f h is sonas a sacrifice"33

offe red up to h is Go d . In th is case what'

would "ihave beenh is address to h is judg es P— what has .

beenth e language held by o the r fanatics in similarci rcumstances P - Thus would h e have Spoken:

Y es,I have murde red my son, and i f the affair.

were to be acted o ve r again, I would do the f

same .— Y e s,lpre fe rred plung ing myhand inmy

blo o d , to hearing a ch ild o fmine abjure h is faith . asI f thi s be a crime I have committed one , hearme

“

to my punishment. — Compare th is speetfh with

the address reallymade by the unfo rtunate Calas. $1He

,protests h is inno cence , he calls heaven tom'

fiw itness it ; h e regards h is death as apunishmentfrom h eavenfor some secret and unknown(if-4 2

'

s!

fence, and prays that he may b e judged by h isGod with as much severity as he M *M nby:

memo ras A ND ANECDOTES . 3 59

men, if h e i s guilty o f the crime laid to h is

charge . He calls th e death of h is sona crime,h e hopes to meet h is judge s atth e g reattribunal,th ereto be confronted with them, and to confound them.

”Suppo sing h im guilty, he lies in.

th e face o f h eavenand o f earth , he lies inh is last

moments, he devotes h imself to eternalpe rdition.

He was anathe ist I may perhaps he told but i f

he was anathe ist he was no ta fanatic, and would

nothave murde red h is sonfo r any question that

concerned relig ion. Choo se,” I would have

said to the judges, i f he was an athe ist, a de

spiser o f every kind o f wo rshi p, a disbelieverinaGod , would he have murde red h is son fo r

such a reasonP—would h is son’

s change o f re .

lig ionhave beenano ffence in. the eye s o f aman

who di sbelieved allrelig ions-I f on the con

trary, Calas was a fanatic, he might have mur

dered h is son, but never would he have d is

owned, indying , anactionwh ich he musthave

regarded as glo rious, as dictated by heaven, as

acceptable to heaven. He would have lo st th e

merit o f the action ind isowning i t,h is dying

lips would have condemned himself ; h e would

have regarded an acti on inwh ich he ought to

have glo ried as a crime . He was h imself an

apo state, and puni sh ed bymaninth is wo rld , h e

called downuponh imself a h eavier punishment

from heaveninano ther.” - I notice these matters

w ithout o rder, with out fire, without fo rce, but

from the penof a man of talents, and eloquence ,

360 msroa Ar. A x D m ensnv 1 763

kilful in the art o f pe rsuasion, such reasoningmighthave be enrendered o f irre sistible fo rce .

Unfo rtunately, however, these were means

which could no t be reso rted to tillafte r the crime

was completed on the part o f th e judges o f Toulouse . There is anothe r matte r which the ad ro

cates have touched but slightly, and wh ich

have beenrende red one of the strongest

to a man accused o f an almo st unprecedented ,

crime ; itis the unblemished prob ity and integritywh ich he had sustained during anex istence o fmo re

thans ix ty years. Oi what availis a life passed

inhonour, if itcannot sh ield us againstthe attacks

o f malignity, and the suspicion o f . a horrible

crime. There is thenno distinction inuncertaincases betweenthe mano f integ rity and the knownvillain; noth ing speaks mo re infavour of the one

thano f the other ; they are to b e equally abandoued to fate . Or, if the wicked manwhenac

cused is already half convicted from the course of

his pastlife , why i s notthe h onest manto be half

absolved from h is. I only ask h ere for the justicee x ercised towards the wicked , and which is d ic

tated by naturalequi ty ; but every criminal code

o f a country wh ich would not be conside red as

wholly barbarous, oughtto hold as a first and in

contestable principle that it were better . twenty‘

guilty should escape th e rigour of th e law, than

that one int manshould be its victim. I t is

thenthe cause o f acknowledged vi rtue and honour

that is to be pleaded. Whenwe seenfather in

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accused inp memo rials, o f

years befo re:a g old watch and snuff-bo x

f wh om h e was accompanyand wh o d ied by the way. Th is

wade by one o f h is breth ren, by nameand th e facuffy o f med icine , whb, if the

beenetablished:ohght, fo r th e h onour'

o f

to have endeavoured to

ontrary, n

rtaina

comp]

cused .

punk

even be enpublicly

provs‘d go t

'

to havei

s , he is lnow nac

money wh

accumulatedtrembl

more infamous than'

the

merely saying ; I hea

1 763 mamons A N D A NECDOTES .

9’

to find I was inane rro r . The re i s'not aman

o f honour ex isting wh o lies no t reasonto tremble ,if the meanand base are to be permitted wi th im

pnnity, to accuse a mannpon vague asserti ons,made by some o f th e very lowestamong th e people ,of a th ing assumed to have be endone tenyears

befo re . I f calumny may employ unpunished such

arms against th e innocent, whe re is hewho willdare in future to undertake the charge

'

o f a dyingman. Thus the pe rfo rmance o f d“

)

duty sacred

among all the nati ons inthe wo rld, willbecomeamong us th e means o f destroying an innocent

man, o r atleast o f load ing him w ith the mo sthate»

fulsuspicions. Fo r, let me ask h ow , suppo singtwo o r thre e o f the w i tne sses necessary to clear our

physician’

s fame had di ed inthe“inte rval, and th is

was ve ry likely to be the case ,— I must ask, i say

h ow h e was they to answer his accuse rs . I aslf

ii i

wh ether among a poli shednation, Bo rdencould beabsolved without

‘

Bouvard be ing , acco rding tb all

the rules of equity sent to the galleys ._T ill the

first be convicted orfthe’crime with wh ich he is

charged , I maintainthat h imcgme i s that o f every

h onest 'man; that publi c honesty and dec

ought to plead fo r every citiz enattacked i

manner. But, to the shame o f th e nati o

o r‘

perhaps o f humannature , itmust be

fledged that aman'

i s no so one r ac

part of th e public

cause ,

itself.on

H I STOR I R A R Y

accused succeeds a gth , with infinite trou

inclearing h is fair fame ,'

tlre public, weary o f

matte r, feels no longer a sutlzicient interest in

be ind ignant w ith th e y raolr wh o wduldruined inno cence . Y oudo well,Demo sth enes would have said , always

.

to

fo rce to the breath o f envy, to encourage

vo ice o f malignity, and to refuse alljustlethe balumniated . From th e manne r ID

you' hononi' genius, inwh ich youprotect

“tth ey may wellbe suppo se d to be

to you. Incons istent and frivolo

have a passionfo r

and indulgence

can be lastingth ink is delive re

an'

d fanaticism,

“thy citi z ens are

famous slanderers.

”

go ing to

monversadion wh ich

W areh imré s, a very

o f anovelwh ich has

o f

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3 66 atsroarwfil A 153) L I rEnAaf

celfént.

ones, vi by lo se our time in readingare no t so .

“fii o es li fe appear to youso long .

‘ W 'fllarcfti oness.— Y onwillno t

'

I tellyouMadame de‘

Blemont’

s noyi l

me much . N o th ing canbe mo re interestingth e storyo fthenunwh ich occupiesnearlyavolW fl—Well, Madam,

l have read

story, sa d, to speak inth e language o f Mad

zde Saint nb in, i t wholly abso rbed me .

m Marckidrtess — C. ome , come, mygo

no enters. h

Myfef i— But if'

your womenwere to

you, bladam, We . cannot at our ag es s itup till

th ree o’

clo ck irf themo rning , to attend your go ifigto b ed at atimewhenyonough trath er—we are afraid o f our healths bemg inju

Tfte Marchioness .—N o mo re— you

insuppo rtabl'

e .

g!

.Myselfi Come tb ei iwwe willwave the

o f style . I wish wi th allmyh eart1 could 3'

so bai

rd asto“h e able to read,w ithout

intears, the historyo f an no ce

who finds-herself, whensh ad

p icion, findfi fim tilitiono f anhieb

who i s.

and onl

arms o f a lov%t o rehders'

h ér 'u

o f h i inself i— Ah fian'ess hardness

no t recofi fie you“

111 15 11101 113 AND Anacno r e s . 367

Ngsey—Woudd to heaéen that our M et

”

made me yawnless and weep mo re -But ingo od

ti'uth I cannotreconcile myself to the absurd ity andefalseho o d o f th e i r fictions. These po o r gentry are

pe rsuaded thatno th ing mo re is requi site to sh ew a

fertile imag inati onand to make aninte re sting no vel,thanto accumulate one uponthe o the r allthe most

ho rrible and most e x travagant situations po sfible .

Your proteg e the Chevalier de Mouhy wh o , Befbre

he was a courtie r inth e antichambe r o fMarshalBelle-Isle had compo sed foursco re and four volumes

‘

fo r the amusement o f the no rth ernparts o f Ge r

many and theW indward lslandi

sr—th is Chevali e r,

w illtellyou that Voltai re has perhaps

superio rity o ver h im in regard to style, but

that the reai s not anauth o r 10 all'

France wh o has

anefluaj imag inationwith h imself.

The Marchi oness .—And indeed i f he wereno t

so silly h e has a sufficiency .

Myself — Y ou are inth e right; 1 have no

o ther complaints to bring against our autho rs than

th e want o f wit and talents. I f they could butadd

to th e ir o th e r qualities these two , I do not doubt

thatth ey wduld'

pro duce th ings really astonishing .

Do you believe , Madam,that

'

the head o f aneu

cientGreek is nece ssary to invent situations ex

tremely romanticP— The mano f genius has I !) ph is

ectlittle supe rio rity o ver the o rd inary man; butthe

'

manne r inwh ich a situation is managed

sh ews‘

real genies . I s ituation

e greatest

HI STOR I CAL AND L I TERARY

eli'

ects ; if he must have such situations by the

d o z encrouding uponthe hack o f each o ther,and

each mo re terrible thanthe o the r, I sh ould conclude

h im a very po o r creature who wanted to conceal

the po ve rty o f h is head underah eap o f te rrible inci

dents . Such a writer could never find the way to

my h eart. 1 w illask h ow it is that yournungets

into abad house -she is led into it by a cha

e ventsutterly devo id o f commonsense . ltis then

impo ssible fo rme to intere st myself in a situation

wholly improbable . I f I could however pass over

th is unpardonable s in, e x amine , I intreat, h o w h e

situation is managed, and thensay whethe r it be

p o ssible fo r it to affect any one . ‘ The questionh e re is o f a very terrible situation; aninnocentandv irtuous young woman, without ex perience , without assistance, i s ina bad house — and what results

from it? that the eyes o f the Marchioness are'

fo r

a few moments mo istened with tears.—Madam, if

h e r dang er do esno t make eve ryh air onyour head

stand e rect, if it do no tmake e very muscle quiver

w ith anx iety, thc nunand he r h isto rianhad betterbo th be drowned together.

The Marchioness .— So that my head-dress

must be deranged five o r six times inth e dayHow th ink you the pati ence o f mywomanwould stand th is ?

.Mysel— Allow me , atleast, thatth e ir angerWould do your autho r greathonour. Fo r the rest,

th ink o f yqur injustice ; you permit yourself to

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370 nrsr oarcanA ND LI TERA RY 1 763

avo ided employing th e same terrible resources

that he has brough t fo rward inClarissa; Pamela

o ftenbrings tears into the eyes, but they are sweet

and delicious tears Clarissa, onthe contrary,makes

th em stream into rrents down the ch eeks, and

occasions mortal agony and convulsions. The

dangers that the simple and innocentPamela runs

create amild specie s o f te rro r ; but inthe misfo r

tunes o f Clarissa terro r assumes a character trag ic

inthe h ighest degree .

The Marchiomss — So that the Engli sh are

wholly victo rs o ver us inthe contest o f g enius .

Myselfi— Hold !by _no means l— In matte rs

of genius and literature we have yetmany who

canfully ente r the lists against them. Wait onlytillth ey are dead and th enyouw illsee how much

th ey willbe our pri de and our bo ast.

The Marchioness .—Merit must then among

us be laid low in the tomb befo re it cano btain

justice ?Mystery— Y es, and th is is no t a parti cular te

flectionuponFrance , it i s the h istory of human

nature . Innovelwriting , h owever, I th ink the

English have left us far beh ind them.

'

Perhaps I

shall deg rade myself in your e stimation, but I

must own that I consider th e no vel o f Amelia,

wh ich was translated about s ix month s ago , far

beyond the greater part o f our French Novels.The Marchione ss .

—Y ou speak o f Fielding’

s

novel, arranged by MadamR icco boni ?

1 763 memo rns AND ax rcno '

r s a. 87 1

MyseM—No to o f Madam Riccoboni's freeand eleganttranslation, but of the bad literaltranslati on published last summer, where no th ing i sre trench ed or alte red ; it ente rtained me verymuch . No bo dy could read it, th e womenload ed

i t with censure, but I never could change myopinion. I t is that the personages o f this no velare realmenand women, such as we see and know.

them every whe re ; this is whatdelights me . They,

have noth ing ot that false varnish with wh ich in

France we illuminate allthe pe rsonages o f our

novels and dramas . Bo oth isno t indeed a man o f

a very superio r description, butmo re true talent is

required to g ive a faithfulpicture o f , such a man

takenfrom the commono rdinary walks o f life ,

than. to paint pe rsons whom no one ever saw, who

are merely creatures of our own imag ination. I

have allpo ssible respect fo r the ‘talents o f Madam

Ricco boui , but indeed I must th ink that sh e has

spo iled Amelia.

The Marchioness .—Lether thengive us some

th ing o f her own, which shall resemble MyLadyMatesby .

Myselfi—And o f all th ings let h er no t tell

us that'

sbe t h inks the novelo f Amelia bad , since

thatwillg ive me a very ill o pinion o f he r taste

and judgment lily Lady Catesby is pretty, I

allow,but there are twenty passages inAmelia

wh ich I had much rather have writtenthana hun

dred Lady Catesby’

s. Read , fo r instance , the

B n2

872 m sr o arcu. AND LITERARY 1763

conversationbetweenDocto r Harrisonand Colo

nel James, uponduelling , which Madam R icca

boni has enti rely Spo ilt inh e r imitation. Read it

inth e bad literaltranslation, and youwillfind the

diffe rence that there is betweena man o f genius

who knows how to make the pe rsonages'he intro

duces speak, and one who makes only anemphatic

di ssertation, like the autho r o f La N ow elle He

lo ise,dogmatiz ing h imselfuponthe subject, instead

o f g iving us the pro bable sentiments of the speak

e rs. It is that, asking pardon o f Madame R icca

boni, Fielding has genius, and R ousseau is only a

Writer.

TheMarchioness .—O h ,lam very readyto yield

up th e affected Juliaand her pedanto f a tuto r, you

know I cannot endure them but do not th ink o f

o verpowe ring me with your English works. I snot

Sir Charles Grandisonas dogmaticalas JeanJac

ques Phas he notallthe quackerywith wh ich youre

proach our h eroes o f romance and of the d rama ?

Alysel—lf' l were tempted to abandonSirCharles Grandisonto you, 1 should stillsay that

he re it is no t the autho r who dogmati z es , he onlymakes h is he ro do so , and that is a ve ry different

th ing . Richardsoninhisno velo f SirCharlesGrandi

sonwrites twenty diflcrentstyles, but inthe Notwelle

Helo ise allthe characte rs talk inthe same strain,inthe emphaticlanguage o f Rousseau. No w the

essentialth ing inthese so rt o f wo rks, is, that the

autho r sh ould ne ver appear. Whatever may beh is talents, i f he be always reminding me o f h im

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r us'rontcar. Annm anna?

The Marchioness .- But, even th ough we

succeed but one time intwenty, should we not

alwavs endeavour to do goo d ?

Myself — Eventhough we were never to sue

oecd. But when you canno t succeed abo ve one

time out o f twenty, I cannotbear that S ir Charles

Grandisonshould be always successful.

The Mm hioness .-Well, I find you much

less subject to be ing be so tted to th ings than I

suppo sed, and I believe I shallbeg into place con

fidence inyou; but, fo r my sake, do endeavonr

to like the Memo irs of Madame de B Ie’

mont.

Alyself — Inconscience ,Madam, I have foundone fine th ing .

The Marchioness .— How 3

,

Y ou have been

talking to me fo r anhour, and not yetmenti oned

i tl— Indeed you are quite insuppo rtable . But

what is it i

.Zlfyse‘Ifi—The title , Madam, the title : The

Dang er of Connections . Oh, the fine title , the

fine subject7 113 Marchrbnessa—I suspected ,

so but hold

your tongue, I canmake nothing o fyou. (Smiling )And why no t such a title i—lnth e passing times

anex cellent treatise might be written uponthe

danger o f politicalconnections.

Myselfi— I do not conce rnmyself about politics, but do youno t th ink the subject fine for anovel?

The Marchioness .—Or fo r acomedy.

1 763 MEMO IRS A N D Ans cnorns. 3 75

M eryl—Y onare inthe r ight. Th e comedyshallbe put into th e hand s o f Didero t, and the

no velinto th o se o f Richardson.

The Marchioness .- I have only two objections

to such anarrangement, that the one no longerwrites, and th e o the r is dead.

Mysef — I have‘

no th ird to propose . But,

confess, Madam, thatthe Dang er of Connectionsi s fine ; with only a little ex pe ri ence inlife one

canno t but see imme diately how fe rtile and h ow

pro found is such a subject. I meannot he re to

includ e only connecti ons with th e w icked, and the

misfo rtunes thatmay result from th em ; th ismanner

o f treating .the subject sh ould be left to o rd inarywriters : but have you neve r remarked, that a

so rt o f fatality seems sometimes to attach itself to

connections among the mo stvirtuous persons, and

that they pro duce mi sfo rtunes no less unfo reseen

thaninevitable . It is evenvery po ss ible that the

purest virtue may conduct innocence , uninten

tionally, fromp recip ice to prec ipice, so as to te r

minate , at length , inits utte r ruin.

The’Marchione ss .

—Th is is indeed the most

grievous o f allideas.

Mysew—We are all subjected to the invisi

ble hand o f fate . Have we our cho ice in anyth ing ? Are we no t oblig ed e very one of us to

obey the particular impulsions which we rece ive ?

A pro d igious comb ination,o f chances and ci rcum

stances, not one of wh ich was inmy pOWO'

l'

, has

formed ’my connections. Did it depend onmyself

376 nts'roarcar. AND LI TERARY 1 768

that I should or should no tmeetwi th such or such

a pe rson, and is no t every th ing that has befallenme , inconsequence o f this meeting , the necessaryresult of th ings o ve r wh ich I had myself no con

troni . Letany one shew me , if they can, h ow the

young Lavaysse could have avo ided be ing at that

supper, wh ich was the commencement of allthe

fo rtune s o f the po o r Calas family.

The Marchiom .— Oh , do not adve rtto that

deplo rable catastrophe l-v—Y ou make me feel ia

deed that a d ifferent penfrom that of Madame de

Saint-Aubinwas requi red to treat sueh a subjectas the Dang er gf Connections . Ho wever, letme

intreat o f you no t to speak of it slightingly to

your ph iloso phe rs ; they willnot read : th e wo rk

and itmay thensucceed .

M ag i—Would notany one who h eard you,Madam, suppo se that the fate o f new books de

pends entirely o rnthe caprice o f certainph iloso

phe rs . Onth is po int, I do no t believe innece ssi ty.

lfeel,und oubte dly, that a bad writer mustnecess

sarilymake bad bo oks but I know of no fatalitythat canpreventa g ood fbo olt be ing good . Fo r the

rest, I g ive youmy wo rd that, in quitting you,

I w illth ink no mo re o f Madame de Blowout, 01’

her adventures , and that i t w illco stme no troubleto fo rget them.

The Marcki oness . Y ou. are an absolute

monster !-Here .a vakt-de-chanibre came - in, with M»

dame de Saint-Aubin's'

compliments, th at she had

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The Marchi oness—Send me some— send me

some , and we’

llend eavour to say awo rd o r two in

its favour.

Inconsequence o f th e above conversation I

here g ive no tice that peo ple may buy, if th ey would

be charitable,and throw into the fi re itth ey would

he just, se veralnew no vels wh ich have appeared

w ith ina ve ry sho rt timu to wi t

The Successes of a Chu omb, intwo parts .

The Walks and R econtres inthe Parkat Ver

sailles,intwo parts .

As myMarch ioness has no copies o f th e abo ve

two wo rks to sellfo r the benefit o f the ir autho rs,

she acknowledges thatthey are mo st completenon

sense .

The Fly ing Men, or the Adventures of PeterWilkins , in th ree volumes with plates , translated

from th e English . I knowno t wheth er th is no vel

be welltranslated ; it i s a po o r imitationo fthatad

mirable wo rk Gulliver’

s Travels, by Swift.

Evening s- in the Country , or a Collectionof

short, amusing , and interesting Stories , in two

parts . This is the sequelo f a rhapso dy, the beg inning o f wh ich appeared in 1 760. The autho r pre

tends that the public rece ived h is wo rk with greatindulgence , and i fpe rfectneglectmay be called so ,he has certainly sufficient reasonto be g rate ful.

Loui s Racine , sonto the greatRacine , is just

dead at a ve ry advanced age . He was amembe r

o f the Academy o f Inscriptions andBelles-Lanes;

1 763 MEMO I R S AND announce s .

he wro te a po emuponR eEg ion, and another upon

Grace ;'

the latte r acquired h im th e nickname o f

Racine the Grace . He was amano fa very narrow

mind ; a Jansenist, and so bigotted that he never

would go to the theatre, even when h is father’

s

traged ies were perforated . No t Athalia'

itself was

ex cepted from thi s rule , because itwas‘

recited by

pro fane mouths . M. de Voltai re said of him:

Louis Racine may do allhe can,but his fathe r

willalways be a ve ry greatman.

”

We have lostanother celebrated writer. M. de

Marivaux o f th e French Academy d ied a few days

ago at the ad vanced age of se venty-si x . He was

th e author o f some ex ecrable traged ies, o f a great

number of comed ies ,and ofsome no vels'

wh ich enj oya considerable reputation. His Mariane and his

PaysanParvenu, are“

much celebrated . He had

a manner of writing , peculiar'

to h imself,

easy.to be recogniz ed , and ve ry

'minnteL rtot‘wanting in

talent, nor occasionally in‘

truth , butWritten ina

bad and o ftenfalse taste'

. Marivaux had a con

siderable'

repntation inEngland, and if it be true

that his'

no vels were'

the mod elfollow ed by Rich

ardsonand by Fi eld ing , we may say that fo r the

first time -a bad o rig inalhas g ivenoccasionto ad

mi rable copies. He had among us a fate similar to

thato fa prettywoman;that is to say, avery brilliantSpring, and amo stneglected and melancholy eu

tnmn and winter. The vigo rous breath of ph ilo

sophy has with inthe lastfifteenyears overthrown

HI STOR I CAL AND LI TERAR Y

allthose reputations which were suppo rted only onreeds . Marivaux was anh onest man, but o f a

character wh ich read ily took offence , consequentlyitwas no easy thing to keep upongood terms with

b ier ; h e suspected some trick in every th ing that

was said ; the mo st innocentwords wounded him,

and he was always ready to suppo se that people

sought to mo rtify h im.

’

This rendered h im un

happywithinhimself, and h is society almo st insupo

po rtable to others .

Edmund Bouchardon, the illustrious statuary,

died atParis the twenty-seventh of July, 1762 ;

he was ho rne tChaumont inBansigui , inthcmonth

of No vember, 1 698. His father, a very moderate

architectand sculptor, spared no pains to have

th is sonwellinstructed . His first glances, as a

ch ild, fellupon. the Lao coon, upon the .Venns de

Medi cis, and uponthe Gladiato r, for these figures

are inthe wo rk ro oms o f the po orest, as well as

o f the most d istinguished artists , as Home r and

Virg ilare equally inthe librari es of a Voltaire andaFreron. Fine li v ing models are rare in every

country, but particularly among us, where the

feet are confined by the make of our sho es, where

the knee is s po iled by the garte r, and where the

shoulders are confined by tight bandage s . Bon

chardon’

s father soughtmut the finestmodels fo r

h im, sparing no ex pense to attainthem.

Pliny says, of Apelles, thathe ne ver-

passed a

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H I STOR ICAL A ND L I TERAR Y 1 763

among the mo ss with wh ich they are cove red, a

e toud o f grand ideas , o f mild and melanch olysentiments. I admire th e entire building , the ruin

fills me with a so rt o f sublime awe, my heart i s

melte d , my imag inati onis infullplay ; I recur toth e pe ople wh o have produced these wonders, but

they alas have long beenno mo re , is! inM ain

commendationis dolor estmamas , cum id ag eret, ex

tinctae. Bouchardonremained tenyears in Italy,and e ven obtaine d d istinction among th is jealous peo ple to such a degree that he was selected

to ex ecute the monument to Clementthe Eleventh ,and but fo r some very particular circumstance s ,

the apo theo sis o f that pontifi'

, wh o did so much

injury to France, would have pro ceeded from

the hand o f a Frenchman. On h is return to

France , he was employed ina g reat manywo rks,

wh ich all breath e strongly a taste fo rnature, and

fo r the pro ductions o fantiqui ty, that is to say, they

are fullo f simplicity, o f fo rce, o f grace, and of

truth.

Wo rks o f sculpture demand a great“

deal of

time,they are pro perly th e wo rks o f the sove

re ign, the ir success depends upou h im and h is

ministers. This reflectionbrings to my mind thefate o f the unfo rtunate Puget. He had e x ecuted

the Milo o fCro tona, wh ich youh ave seenatVer

sailles, and wh ich , though standing by the side of

the master-pieces o f antiquity, doe s no t seem,

d isplaced . Discontented at the moderate price

oli'

ered for his wo rk, h e was go ing to break itw ith

1 763 manoms A ND anacnou s.

ahammer, if h is hand had not beenstopped.

‘

Th e

Great -King be ing info rmed o f th is, said : Let

h im have what h e asks , but let h imno t be em

ployed anymo re he i s too dear awo rkmanfo r

me . After th is, wh o could venture to employ

Puget— No bo dy.

— Thns was the first artist in

France leftto starve l

No t insuch a way d id the city of Paris con

duct itself towards Bouchardon, when he had

ex ecuted h is beautifulFountaininthe Street o f

LaGrenelle ; beauti ful, I mean, as to the figures,

butfo r th e re st, inmy o pinion, below mediocrity.

I Canno t th ink that any fountaincanbe beautiful,as a fountain, whe re th e distributiono f th e wate r

is no tmade the principalfeature . Th e city settled

upon the artist an annuity fo r life , wh ich was

g ranted ina manne r the mo st no ble and the mo st

flattering . I t is by such means thatgreatmenare

found to ex ecute g reatunde rtakings.

The Histo ry o f England, by Davi d Hume, has

ah igh reputationinEuro pe . Th is celebrated ph ilo

so pher beganby writing th e Histo ry o f the House of

Stuart. Go ing backwards , h e ne x t publish ed th e

H isto ry o f the Princes o f th e House o f Tudo r, and

finished by go ing stillfurthe r back to th e Histo ryo f th e Country lrom th e invas iono f Julius Cae sar to

the time whenthe House o f Tudo rwas seated onthe

throne . These three wo rks fo rm a complete His

to ry o f England,‘

inwhich'

we equally admire the

wisdom, the depth, and'the simplicity o f the h is

HI STORI CA L A ND L I TER ARY

to rianby wh ich it i snarrated . Mr. Hume proves

ve ry fo rcibly by h is ownex ample thatth e pro vinceo f writing h isto ry by right, belongs {to ph ilo so

phars ex empt from prejudice and passion. He

judges allparties, all factions, allth e quarrels

wh ich h ave o ccasi oned mento tear each other to

piece s with une x ampled impartiality'

; and as we

generally denominate allmatte rs o f party, follies

onboth sides, the English ph ilo soph er commonlytreats bo th parties equally wello r ill. The His

tory of the House of Stuart was translated two

years ago bythe AbbePrevost, buth is translationis

accused o f hav ing been ex ecuted w ith extreme

negligence . Madame Belo t has just publish ed a

translationo f The History of the House of Tudor ,intwo volumes quarto . Th is lady i s the widow o f

anAdvocate, who left her at h is death wi th no

other means of subs istence but a rent o f aboutsi x ty livres a year. As it was impo ssible to sub

sist upon such a mi serable pi ttance , she sold the

property, fo r wh ich she go t twelve hundred livres,and th i s money sh e applied to learning English

with the v iew to procuring he rself a livelihood byiranflation. She has since found many friends,

and the king has just granted her a pension. We

have already been presented by‘he r with some

volumes o f M scellani es translated from the English . I mo st truly believe that nobody i s mo re

entitled to our interest, onthe sco re o f realmerit,

thanMadame Belot, and I wish with allmy heartthat I could gi ve allpossible commendati onto h er

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H I STOR I CA L AND LI TERARY

April, 1765 .

The request presented by th e unfo rtunate

Calas Family, was inth e course o f the lastmonth

examined and admitted inthe King'

s Councilo f

State. The Parliament of Toulouse has , incouse

quance , beensummoned to send ina repo rt o f the ir

pro ceedings inthat horrible trial. The discuss ion

of the chair willoccupy much time, and itwill

ve ry li kely end inclearing the memo ry of th is un

happy v ictim o f fanaticism . Butwi llthe judges

who vi olated allthe fo rms o f their sacred ministry,

who made a fatalattack uponthe public safety, by

devoting aninnocentmanto afrightfulpunishment

in th e face o f the laws;—will these judges be

punished i—W illthe ir crime , the mo statrocious

will venture to haz ard a predi ction. Whatevermay happen, the glo ry of allthat is done inbehalfof th is unfo rtunate family, willfo r ever restwith

M. de Voltaire . He dared to take up thc cause of'

humanity, the m se of e very ci tiz en; be lles called

the attention o f all Europe to the deplo rable

catastro ph e ; and 1f the judges of €alas do notg o

to the galleys with the Cnp itoulDavid atthe irhead ,they willat least be held up to the ele crationof

mankind. A fo re igner went lately to vis itM. de

Voltaire, when the patriarch sai d to his guest,Y ousee, Sir, the outcasto fKings, and the .pro

tecto r of persons condemned to the wheel.

“MOI“AND AN BGDO‘

I’EQo

M. de Voltaire has justpublish ed the second

volume o f h is H i story f Peter the Great. Thi s

latte r part o f the details o f so memo rable a re ignappears ex ecuted in a manne r mo re wo rthy o f

the illustrious hi sto rianto who m we are indebtedfor it, thanthe fo rme r was ; yet I canno t say thatit rises altogethe r to th at po int o f d ignity wh ich

belongs to the h isto ry of a g reatleg i slato r, o f the

founde r and refo rmer o f a vast empire . We read

th e wo rk of M.

°de Voltaire wi th pleasure , but th is

is the ve ry th ing with wh ich I reproach h im ; the

History of Peter the Great ought to produce

other'

efl'

ects, and leave othe r impre ssions onthe

mind thanthat o f its be ing anagreeable bo ok toread . What is besides much to be regretted i s,that

,after so great amaste r, no one willbe found

bold enough to enter uponthe subject. I tmust

thenremainfo r ever impe rfect. I cannev er sumciently lament that awriter o f such talents should

sometime s be so much the slave of a thousand pettyconsid erations to whi ch h is genius ought to rise

superio r. Th is o ften leads h im, even on very

impo rtant occasions, to pre sent th ing s to our v iew

under anaspect so ve rsatile, that it belong s much

less to the d ignity o f a h istor ian, thanto the insi

d ious elo quence o f a rheto rician. We canno t e i

actly charge M. d e Voltaire w ith hav ing d isguised

th e conduct o f Peter towards h is son, unde r false

colours,'butwhenwe read what he says uponthe

trialand tragicalend o f the youth, the mind is left

0 c 2

ina state of uncertainty wh ich does no t permit o four fo rming any

'

solid judgment onthe merits o f

the case . M. de Voltaire must however have anopinionuponit, and the histo rianought to b e suf

fic iently h onest no t to'

concealh is sentiments on

th e th ings wh ich he treats . Th is veracity canalone render h isto ry interesting , and if sometimes

from private cons iderations, some management'

may be requisite, the h onestmanremains entirelysilent, no r touches onany subject uponwh ich hedoes no t feelh imself at libe rty to write entirelywithout restraint. Satire , th e desi re o f blackeninga characte r, o f imputing to anothe r crimes no t

wellestablish ed , o ftenamere taste fo r th e marvellous, I would reprobate in a h isto rian, no less

severely thanM . de Voltaire does ; but to shrink

from th e truth, to practi se impro per fo rbearance ,

to be influenced by private considerations inthe

manner o f representing th ings, takes from h istoryits freedom and its dignity, and renders the h istoriancontemptible . Whenwe have read these twovolume s from the ‘

peno fM. de Voltaire , we know

the e vents of the re igno f Peter the Great, butwe

do notknow the character e ith er o f thatex traord i

nary man, o f th e Empress Catherine h is .wife, o r

any of the personag es who we re the instruments

inbring ing about such wonderful. changes inthe

state o f the country . I twillnot be thus, I ,h0pe ,

that the greatFrederick willwrite th e h istory o f a

re ignimmo rtalinthe annals o f th e wo rld .

'

Fo r the rest, a century wh ich has produced

th ree such men as Peter the Great o f Russia,

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890 rusroarcanA ND m an“ 1 768

sto ry the,English poet, Thomson, co inpo eed a

tragedy wh ich was pe rformed inLondonunder theti tle o f Tancred and Sig ismunda. A pro se transla

tion of th is pi ece was published inthe French

Me rcury about two years ago . M. Saurinhas nowintroduced ituponthe boards of the French Theatreas Blanch and Guiscardo , a tragedy inve rse, freetranslated from the English . Th is piece was

played three times inthe last week, butwith no

great success ; i t is, however, to be resumed after

the returno f the players from Fontaineblean.

What a fine subiect fo r a trag e dy is Blane/t

and Gm’

scardo , and how easilymight amano f real

genius have made it one o f the finest pieces bf

wh ich our language could boast. How happens it

th enthatM. Saurin'

s trag edy is co ld and languid

it is, that the subject is above his powers, that

none but a genius of the first o rder could have

ex ecuted such anundertaking with success. I f

thevautho r could not make the tears of his audience

flow from the beg inning to the end , if he could

not rend the hearts o f h is spectators and send themaway o ve rwh elmed w ith anguish , he oughtnot to

‘

have ventureduponsuch a subject. How strong aninterest sh ould re ign inth is piece from the vtrybeg inning l— What a sublime d i ameter is that o f

Sifli edi l— how affecting i s th e characte r o f Blanch !-what canb e mo re inte resting thanayoung hero ,fo rmed , unhappily fo r h imself, with a heart of too

deep sensib ility, capable of practis ing every other

virtue ex ceptrenouucing awomanwhomh e justly

1 763 traumas AND s trenuous

adores: Observe that so many virtuous persons

are placed ina very deplo rable situationwi thoutany of them be ing actually to blame , withoutunyr

o f the .manmuvres o f the wicked , o f tho se v illain-I

nus s ouls wh om our modernpoets have always at

the ir command to fillUp the ir plot. The constablehimselfmust be allowed amanof honour and irreil

proaohahle , though he canno t lay claim to equal

virtue with the o the rs. Inthe tragedy, the prince

is educated without any knowledge of h is ownrank

and si tuation, and th is circumstance g1ves adeeper

interest to the play thanth e story, since inGilBluethe h ero has beeneducated as the lawfulsuccesso rto th e throne . The genius of Rac ine , combinedwith the warmth and passiono f the authur of Z aire,would have made th is tragedy a chg -d

’

onnre .

Whata p ity that so fine a subject should fallinto

such feeble hands !

M. Saurius style is poo r and his p iece rs ill

written; the re i s no th ing m it o f strength, o f truth,o f sentiment, of passion, o f logic , o r o f pathos .

Wh en h e would e xpress the tender sentiment o f

lo ve, he falls into th e eclogue o r th e madrigal;whenhe would be fo rcible

.

and path etic, he i s bombast:

true warmth i s no t to be found inany part. Some

passages were much applauded, as, fo r example ,

that inwh ich Blanch , whenabandoned to h ergriefs

says, amid st the stillness of the night

How long the ni ghtsppears to thcce whom grief

nuro rucanAND uruanr 1 763 .

The passage is fine undoubtedly, but was

Blanch atthatmoment ina situationto utter such

a sentiment? I th ink no t. I f some time after, in

relating the sto ry o f her suffe rings, she had made

such a reflection, itWould no t have beenout of its

place . I prefer very much the passag e inwh ich

S iffred i announces .to h is daughter the death of the:

king . He speaks the re as a Statesman, and as a"

ph ilo so ph er ; he recalls to ourminds the emptiness

of humang randeur by telling us that th is good

king is arriy'

eda tY the momentwhenmonarchsnolonger preserve any of the pe rogati ves o f their

rank ; when,»coufounded with the lowestofmo rtals;they remainwithoutguards, withoutany pro tectinnhuttheir virtue alone . Th e idea is no tnew, but it

is affecting, and abo ve all~ it is inits place ; and I am

never afi'

ected butwith th ings simple inthemselvesand pro perly-timed .

T he English , o f wh om there are crouds at

Paris, assertthatM. Saurinhas Spo iled the English

trag edy very much . Th is seems a not unjus t se

cusation, since th e French p iece is very dalland

ted ious, and they say that the English one is full

o f interest. In the latter, Blanch Is inbed when

Guiscardo ente rs her apartment during the night,and Siffredi g after the murder o f h is daughte r, rushes

into the room inh is g own in allthe diso rder of a

manwho has;hastily quitted h is bed . Why darewe not in France imitate the truth with equal

fidelity. ifs—no th ing , as itappears to me , proves mo re

fo rcibly the feebleness of our pie ces, and our false

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HlBTORIOA L AND LITERARY

title to any one whom he chuses . He has to me

very much the air o f be ing that flat and miserableChevalier de Solignac ,who bears the title ofprivate

Secretary to h is Polish Majesty. Allthe principal

pieces inth is collectionhave beenlong knownto

the public, a few smaller ones now appear fo r the

first time . The wo rk upon the Government ofPoland, wh ich has beenbefo re the public fo r twelve

years , under the title o f,’

Thefi -ee Vo ice of a Citi

z en,occupies two volumes o f the collection. K ing

Stanislaus was also one o f the first who attacked

JeanJacques Rousseau’

s d iss ertationagainst the

sciences. But the best wo rks o f this ex smonarch

are not printed, cannot be printed ; th ey are o nlyto be seenintraversing Lo rraine. I t is there that

we witness with astonishment allthe good done

by h imwith his very confined means . Hi sannual

revenue amounted to no mo re thantyre millions of

French livres , yet he lived with allthe deco rum of

royalty, and had always money to di stribute for

benevolent purpo ses ; no monument that could be

erected to him Would be so lasting as th e remem

brance ofh is goo d deeds. Th e mo re we reflect, the

mo re deeply we feelh owmuch (e conomy is the first

of vi rtues in a king, and the science of applyingmoney inthe mo stusefulmanner, the mostuseful

that a so vereigncanpossess. There was no thingwith wh ich -Stanislaus could justly be reproach ed

ex cepting having sufi'

e red the priests , and abo ve all,the Jesuits to o btaintoo great anascendancy o verh im. According to the irusualcustomthey turned

1 763 narrows A ND nam es

the goo d prince’

s benevolence to the advantage of

superstition, and d irected it against the progress of

The Letters writtenby Lady Mary Worth yMontague , during he r travels inEurope , Asia andAfrica, have beentranslated and printed inHols

land . Two ed itions are given, one publi shed at

Amste rdam, the other at Rotte rdam ; the latter is

repo rted to be the best. Y ou know that LadyMary accompanied he rhusband, onhi s embassy toConstantinOple , and th e letters which fo rm thi.

collection, we re writtenbyhe r, dur ing h er absence,to her friends inEngland . I t was she wh o , at

her returnfromTurkey, established inoculationinEngland.

The Engli sh consider th ese letters, in their

originallanguage , as models of style and elegance ;under the pe rr of the Dutch translato rs not the

slightest trace of th is merit remains . They are

notwithstanding very interesting , and her manner

o f consi dering objects is both o rig inaland ente rtain

ing , The wo rk does no tme etwith great applause

among us, but that may be th e fault o f those who

judge it. 1 have o ftenremarked that the autumn

is 'anunfavourable season for wo rks to come out

atParis . As the tosm is at that time nwre empty

thanatany other, the fools who remainpass o ver

ex cellent wo rks without having any suspicionof

the ir wo rth , not having any one to give themthei r

cue . But besides th is, some strokes which have

396 msro arcu. AND LI TERARY 1 763

escaped from the peno f th e fair autho ress against

France, and particularly against the French lad ies,have prejud iced th is fi ir part o f the judges against

her ; and no one canhope’

to succeed he re wh o

has no t the vo ices o f the lad ies inthe i r favour.

Our belles could not see that it was pardonable in

one wh o had beenjustmate rnplating the beautiful

Cireassians, and the lo vely womeno f Chios, notto

find th e Parisianfairalto gether so handsume as the

Orientals, and to be sh ocked wi th th e plaisters

of rouge thatth ey putuponthe ir cheeks . Rousseau

says, somewhere , that the Pari sianlad ies have all

the bold and masculine air of g renadiers . This is

no less false thanimpertinent, yet the ladies could

pardonh im,though they cannotpardonLady Mary

Wo rtleyMontague . I t is thatanunpalatable truthis much less easily pardoned , thana downright

slander. Be this as itmay, LadyMary is a womano f g reat talents and me rit, and her letters will

afi'

ord the reade r much entertainment, if he canin

any sort digest the clums iness o f the translato r.

Madame de Lire, wh o , as wife to th e late

M. Desallenrs, has also lived at Constantinople,attacks Lady Mary

’

s ve racity . But te have beenatConstantinople is not initself alone sufficientto

enable any one to judge her work inth is po int. o f

v iew ; a personmust have had equaltalents, an

equally ph ilosophicalmind, equal taste and dis

cernment, equalardour insearch o f info rmation,befo re he can be qualified to invalidate our fair

autho ress’

s testimony. She is reproached with

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nm oucar. AND em ai l“ 1763

and inspite of the Duke of Gloucester h is uncle

and minister.

Margaret was not formed to live idly upon'

the throne ; she so ongained a complete ascendan

cy over the mind o f her weak husband , and go

verning h im entirely, extended h er views, and

amb itions o f equally g overning the State. To

cfibct this, it was necessary that th e Duke of

Gloucester should be remo ved out o f the way, and

she procured h im to be not only disgraced but

assassinawd . This crime has beenmade asnbject

o f gremreproach to he r, but itwas less her ind i

vidualguilt than the guilt o f the age . The tri

umph of great souls is to be placed ind ifi cnlt si

tuati ons, it is there that all th e ir genius i s dis

played, but it i s the g reatest o f allmisfo rtunes to

ordinary minds . I t may sound wellfo r a weak

prince to be governed by a hero ine , but his histo ryis commonly only a se ries o f faults and d isasters.

The genius o f Margaret could not am t the mis

fo rtune s to wh ich her husband was do omed .

“

I t

was already ag reat one that she , ino rde r to re ign,was obliged to destroy a mini ster of the blood

royal, one who was as dear to the peopleas she ,

from be ing a Princess o f the Blood of France,was o di ous to them.

Margaret, afte r th is catastrophe, did'

not go

ve rn with suflic icnt address o r good fortune to

conciliate the p0pular' favour. Onthe contrary,

the losses”

that the English experienced inthe pro

1763 MEMO I RS A N D s ux cno'ras. 399

Vinces wh ich they po ssessed inFrance, incensed

the people mo re and mo re , and the queenwas at

length unde r the necessity o f sacrificing her prins

cipnlministe r and favouri te , the Duke o f Suffolk;to the public hatred . The mo st impo rtant effo rtso f h er policy were thendirected to preventing theDuke o f Yo rk‘s coming forward inany conspicuouscharacter; The house o f Yo rk was of an elder

branch o f the royalfamily to the house o f Law

canster, and had consequently an incontestable

right to the throne ; th e Duke had beendeprived

o f i tby misfio rtune s alone . Allthat the que endidto prevent the h ouse o f Yo rk becoming dangerousto her and Henry , only se rved to put arms into

the i r hands, and acivilwar so onbroke out. Henrywas takenprisoner by the Earlo fWarwi ck ina

battle where Margaret fought by his side and al

th ough th is Prince ss’

s courage remaine dunshaken,

and that she had eventhe happiness of conque ringthe Duke o f York in another battle , where theDuke h imself and one o f h is sons were killed, she

could not triumph o ver the genius o fWarwick.

Histo ry paints th is celebrated man as fill] of

courage , artifice and pride , as o f a courageous

spirit, and as fe rtile inresources . Master of Lomdon, he had the young son o f the Duke o f Yo rk

proclaimed king by th e title o f Edward the Fourth .

The feeble Henry was declared unwo rthy o f the

throne ,and was shut up inthe Tower, wh ile theintrepid Margaret, h is wife , crossed . the sons to

seekassistance inFrance . Edward was, however,

nrsroatcar. AND L i nk s“ 1 763

no soone r seated on th e th rone , than h e pro ved

ungrateful. Warwick, who had been a second

father to h im, to whom he owed the crown,went

o ve r to France to negociate amarri age betweenh i s

young so vere ignand a si ste r o f the wife o f Louis

th e Eleventh K ing o f France . The treaty of alli

ance was nearly concluded , whenEdward saw the

LadyEli z abethWo odville ,and becoming enamoured

o f he r charms, married he r privately. He after

wards declared he r queeno f England w ith out consulting Warwick.

Th is latter was not a manpatiently to suppo rt

such anindignity , and h e so onbecame the irrecon

c ileable enemy of the K ing whom h e h imself had

g iven to England . Both parties had recourse to

arms , and the war was renewed. Edward was soon

deprived o f h is newly-acquired throne , and wasd ri venout o f the kingdom; wh ile the unfo rtunate

Henry was released‘

from the Tower and replaced .

onthe throne . ButWarw ick d id no t serve th e

h ouse o f Lancaster with the same go od fo rtune

that he had served the h ouse o f Yo rk . Edward

so onfound means to returnto England , and Henrywas scarcely re sto red befo re h e was shut up anew

inthe Tower. This happened at the verymomentwhenMargaret returned to England with her son,intend ing to take advantage o f her happychange

o f fo rtune ; andWarwick about th e same time losth is life ina battle, the e vent of wh ich secured the

peaceable po ssessi on o f th e th rone to Edward .

Margarethad only the additionalafl icti ono f see ing

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attended h is first essay,in the drama, proves

h im capable o fmov ing ina much h igher Sphere ;

we have only to h o pe that his subsequent success

may answer. the ex pectations now raised o f h im.

Inth e tragedy o f the EarlofWarwickhe has onlytaken the general outline and th e names of the

personag es from h isto ry. A part o f the plotand

some o f th e situations are bdrmwed fromthe AbbePrevo st

’

s romance , and are contrary to the h isto

ricalfacts ; th is is a pity, since the facts are too

wellknownto admit of our readily accustomingourselves to seeing th em altered . Th is licence , be

sides, takes away from the characters their indi vié

duality,and alters th e manners and characteristic

features of the age, th ings which are o f the h ighe st

value ina dramatic wo rk ; to which such ex treme

W e dnnwas paid by the ancients, and wh ich are

ane x tremelyneglected by the modems . Ofwhat

ever nationthe heroes are w ith wh om we are now

presented , whethe r they be Greeks, o r Romans,French , English , o r Mussulmans —whether they

belonged to a polishe d and enlightened, or to aharbamus age , they are allpe rfect resemblances

th e one o f the o the r. Britannicus,Titus, Oro smau,the Duke de Fo i x , have allthe same character of

genero sity, they allbreathe the same no ble sentiments ; the JewMathauinAthalia, and the RomaaNarcissus inBrittannicus, d isplay the same spec ies

o f wickedness and pe rfidy. They all resemblethe ir author

, that is to say, the mod elwhi ch he

has fo rmed inh is ownh ead o f a hero or a villain,

1763 traumas AND sarcomas. 403

but they have no resemblance to the personages ofthe age and nationinwh ich they are supposed to

have lived they have noth ing of the irmanners, o fthe ir conversation, they are all, insho rt, Frenchmen. This, without alldoubt, is the principal

reasonwhy young pebple are so much pleased

Wi th tragedy : at that age , the first sentiments o f

pass iondelight the soul, wh ile persOns of a more

mature d -taste requi re a truth and a strength of

manners which we seek inmininmoderntrage a

d ies. I would nottherefo re make that a particular

objectionto M. de La Harpe, whi ch is infact the

fault of h is age . He has arranged and condti cted

the mater ials and inci dents o f h is piece accord ingto establi shed custom, and inpardoning th is licence

wemustacknowledge thathe shews h imself ind is

putably a personof veryconsiderable talents.

The time wh ich he has ch osenfo r h is piece is

that whenWarwick isnegociating, inFrance , themarriage of young Edward with the queen of

France’

s siste r, and when Edward , smittento the

soulby the lo vely Elizabeth Woodville, dete rmines

to break the treaty concluded by h is minister andbenefacto r. But th is is th e least afl ia ive part of

the outrage which , according to the Abbe Provost’

s

mutate ,Warwick rece i ves from his new king .

Although married , he has beenlong passi onately ,

inlove with Eliz abeth , and Edward does h im a

m rtalinjury inthandepriving h im of the heart

of his mistress. The mo st uncontroulable o f all

passioms renders him guilty of the blackest ingras D 2

H I STOR I CAL AND L I TERAR Y.

titude towards the manwho placed the.

crownuponh is head . But h ere the poet,

'incho osingth is moment fo r the time

,o f h is dream, has not

thought fit to adhere entirely.to the romance wri

ter as to th e incidents attend ing uponthe ri valsh ip

betweenthe king -maker and the king .,He sup.

po se s Warwick to be unmarried, andtobe a suito r

fo r th e hand of Eliz abeth . Henry the Six th was

thenconfined inthe Tower, acco rding to h istory,

and acco rd ing to the poet, Margaret o fAnjouwithher sonwere at the court o f Edward, where theywere treated w ith great respect, though detainedin some so rt as prisoners. Th is circumstance is

false Margarety es inFrance whenWarwick was

there negociating the king’

s marriage . Neither the

manners o f the age, no r good policy, would have

pe rmittedEdward to leave awoman, so fo rmi dable,atliberty inthe midst o f h is court. The fact is,that she was not takenprisoner tillafter the deatho f Warwick in the battle which terminated this

fataland sangujnary contest.

The principalde fects o f the tragedy are the

wantof intetest, o f sentiment, and o f vigour; Ale

though the subject be very afl’

ecting , M. de ,La

Harpe does not know h ow to make,his audience

weep ; but the re is a great dealo f warmth inthe

details, g reatjudgment inthe conducto f the pie ce ,

great elevation inth e stile and characters. The

plo tne ve r linge rs, and it is free from.

any obsonrity. I f the actionmay seem fo r a moment sus

pended wh ile Warwick is inprison, yet the poet

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msronrcar. AND u neas y 1 763

the mo std ifficult pieces with a precision that is

perfectly astonish ing . Her brother, who willno tbe seven years old tillnex t February , is a yet

mb re e x traord inary phenomenon; so eatramd i.

nary thatwe scarcely know . how to believe whet

we see with our owneyes , and hear with our owncars. Notonly does h e ex ecute the mo st difficult

passages with the utmo st precision, but the new .

all the insp irations of h is genius, producing a

thousand ideas that enchant, wh ich succeed th e

one to the other with the utmost taste , and the

most ex quisite harmo rLy, perfectly free from all

confusion. The mo st consummate master o f the

science .could no t shew more skillinh is modula

tions, wh ich h e conducts by ways the least known

yet always e xact. He reads with the utmost read i

ness any mus ic presented to h im, and writes and

compo ses with wonderfulfacility, without comingnear the instrument to se ek his acco rds . I wrote

downa minuet, and des ired him to put th e base to

it he to ok the penand did so immediately, with

out ev er touch ing the harpsichord. Another th ingto which I was awitness, and wh ich seems almo st

incompreh ens ible , is th is —A lady asked h im,

the o the r day, whethe r he could , by h is car alone,without see ing the mus ic , accompany anItalian

Cavatina, wh ich she knew by heart, and she be

1 763 usuo rns AND anscnor s s .

gauto ,sing it. The ch ild tried a base , which he

found no t pe rfectly exact, because o f the impo ssi

b ility of preparing , befo rehand, the accompanimento f a song wh ich he d id not know butwhenth e

air was finished, h e requested the lady to sing it

again, and inth is se cond essay, heno t only playedthe air through pe rfectly with his right hand, but

he added the base with h is left, without the leasthes itation o r embarrassment, After th is, he

begged the lady ten times o ver to sing the air

again, and eve ry time varie d the character of the

accompaniment; he would probably have gone on

to twenty times had he no t beendesi red to stop.

I do not despair of having my head turned by th isch ild, i f I hear h im often; he makes me conce ivevery

'

wellthat it is d iflicultto prese rve ourselves from

madness inwitnessing prodig ies. These two 6:

traordinary ch ildrenhave excited the warmestad~

mi rati on inevery one who has seen and heard

them. The Empero r, and the Empress Queen.loaded them with kindness, and they rece ived an

equallywarm receptionat the Courts o f Munich

and o f Manhe im. I t is a pity that musi c is so .

ve rylittle understoo d inth is country. The father

pro po ses go ing from hence to England , and he af

terwards means to carry h is ch ildrento the lower

parts of Germany .

We have just rece ived, from Geneva, some

copies o f a wo rk, entitled : Letters wr ittenflo w

the (fore stry. Several burgesses and citiz ens of

.nrsro arcs t.‘

A ND L I TERA RY 1763

that republic having made various representationsto the Council, w ith regard to its procee d ings

againstJeanJacques Rousseau,peo ple’

s h eads began

to be so heated uponthe subject that great approh ensionswe re entertained fo r the public tranquillity

and , M. Tronch in published these Lettersfi om

the Country inhopes o f quieting people’

s mindsh is end has beenfully answe red . He descants, as

a simple citiz en, onthe difficulties wh ich have nocurred , and every one , after read ing h is work, seknowledges thatthe Counc ilwere inthe right. Th isis perhaps, th e first e x ample that canbe cited o f

reasono btaining anempire o ve r heads wh ich had

once beenheated by factionand cabal. M . Tron

ch inis brother to the physi cian, and a mano f an

e x cellent understand ing . Had h e been bo rn inEngland, he would, mostassuredly, have made aconSpicuous figure in the House o f Commons .

But I will refe r to a celebrated mag istrate, inFrance , the charge o f g iving youanidea o f ‘ these

letters.

Lanna fromM . de Moncnaa, Attorney-General,to the Parliament atArx , to the DUKE DE V I L

LAB S, Governor of Pno vancn.

I CANNOT, Sir, returnyoutoo many'

thanks for th e

copy youwere pleased to send me o f the Letters

wr itten fi om the'

Country , and only re questto be allowed no t to return it. I have had so

much pleasure inthe perusalo f thi s work, that I

must hope to be pardoned a theft so openly avow

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410 arm res t um ur g ent 1 768

he is occupied only w ith the public goo d , b e ap

pears to love noth ing but truth and the laws ; he

“decei ve without having the ai r of seeking to

dominant o ver the ir unde rstand ings. There is in

h is country a great fund of good sense and go od

fi eling . I amno tsurprised at the great efl'

ect pro

duced by this w'

o rk, it scarcely could failof it.

ment, my z eal, and my respect.

END THE FIRST OF THE“R“PART