FRANCE
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FRANCE
composed odes, an epic work (the "Franeiade", in
which he aspires to do for France what Virgil, with the
/Eneid, did for Rome), and some eclogues. If he has
utterly failed in his epic attempt, and if his abuse of
erudition renders his odes very difficult to read, it
must nevertheless be said that these works sparkle
with beauties of the first order. Ronsard is not only,
as was long ago said of him, the marvellous workman
of little pieces, of sonnets and tiny odes; in brilliancy
of imagination, in the gift for inventing new rhythms,
he is one of the greatest poets known to French litera-
ture. Side by side with him Du Bellay, in his " Re-
grets", inaugurated la poisie intiine, the lyricism of
confidences, and Jodelle gave to the world "C16opa-
tre" (1552), the first, in point of date, of the tragedies
imitated from the antique, thus opening the way for
Robert Garnier and Montchrestien.
At the same time that the Renaissance was bringing us the feeling for art, the Reformation was giving cur- rency to new ideas and tendencies. The two inspira- tions commingled rendered possible the work of the two masters of sixteenth-century prose, Rabelais and Montaigne. In that prodigious nursery tale, in which he scatters buffooneries and indecencies by the handful, it would be a mistake to think that the au- thor of "Gargantua" hides a thought and a symbol under very line of text. All the same, it is true that one must break the bone to find the " susbtantific marrow". Rabelais has a hatred of the Middle Ages, of its Scholasticism and its asceticism. For his part, he does not mistrust human nature ; he believes it to be good and wants people to follow its law, which is instinct. His ideal is the abbey of Thelema, where the rule runs: Do as you please (Fais ce que tu vou- dras). " Nature is my gentle guide ", says Montaigne on his part. This is one of the itleas which circulate in his essays, the first book of which appeared in 1580. In this sort of disjointed confession, Montaigne speaks above all of himself, his life, his tastes, his habits, his favourite reading. As he goes along he expounds his philosophy, which is a kind of scepticism, if you will, but applying exclusively to the things that belong to reason, for with Montaigne the Christian Faith re- mains intact. What makes Montaigne an original writer, and makes his part in French literature one of capital importance, is his having been the first to in- troduce into that literature, by his minute study of his own Ego, that psychological antl moral observation of man which was to form the foundation of great works in the next century.
In a general way the Reformation produced a pro- found inipression on the writers of the sixteenth cen- tury, giving them a freedom of movement and of thought unknown to their predecessors of the Middle Ages. On the other hand, multiplying theological discussions, controversies, and fierce polemics between Catholics and Protestants — dividing France into two parties — it gave birth to a whole literature of conflict. We will confine ourselves to the mention of Calvin and his "Institution de la religion chr6tienne" (1541). As a theologian he need not concern us here ; we need only say that, by the simplicity of his exposition, by the energy of his harsh and gloomy style, he effects an entrance into our literature for a whole range of sub- ject-matters which had until then been reserved for Latin. Calvin was the teacher of the Reformation; Agrippa d'Aubign(5 was its soldier, but one who had taken the pen in hand. It was after long service in the field that he compo-sed his "Tragiques", a versified work imlike any other, a medley of satire and epic. Here the author presents a picture of France devas- tated by wars of religion, and paints his adversaries in odious colours. Now and then hatred inspires him with fine utterances. After all these struggles and all this violence, the age could not but long for peace, could not but hold all these excesses in horror. Such a spirit inspires the "Satire M6nip6e" (1594), a work,
part prose, part verse, which, with its irony, gives evi-
dence that an epoch has come to its end, fatigued with
its own struggles and ready for a great renovation.
T}te Seventeenth Century; the Classical Age. — The seventeenth century is the most noteworthy epoch in the history of French literature. The circumstances of the age, it is true, are peculiarly favourable for literary development. France is once more the strongest factor in European statecraft; her political influence is supreme, thanks to the wonderful achieve- ments of her arms and the brilliant triumphs of her diplomacy. Conscious of her greatness, she ceases to be dependent on foreign literatures, and fashions new literary forms which she bids other countries copy. The internal peace which she enjoys favours disin- terested study in the domains of art and literature, without the need of giving to her literary creations a social or political tendency. Authors are patronized by society and the court. Intellectual conditions are especially favourable; the national mind, steeped in the learning and culture of the classes, has become sufficiently strengthened to emancipate itself from the yoke of servile imitation. The language, capable henceforth of giving adequate expression to every shade of thought, has become clearly conscious of its power and is exclusively French in syntax and vocabu- lary. Such are the circumstances, such the elements, which combine to form the genesis of the classical literature of France. It does not, indeed, claim to have determined the extreme limits beyond which literary activity in France may not range; progress will continue throughout the ages to come. But in the works of that period may be seen the most com- plete and perfect presentation of the distinguishing qualities of the French race ; the ideal counterpart, in miniature, of the most perfect form of French litera- ture.
It is characterized, in the main, by a tendency which seeks the apotheosis of human reason in the realm of literary activity, and regards the expression of moral truth as the end of literary composition. Hence the fondness of the literature of the seventeenth century for general ideas and for the sentiments that are common to mankind, and its success in those kinds of literature which are based on the general study of the hvmian heart. It reached perfection in dramatic literature, in sacred eloquence and in the study of morals. Hence the contempt of the seven- teenth-century literature for all that is relative, individual, and mutable; in lyric poetry, which appeals primarily to the individual sentiment, in the descrip- tion of material phenomena, and the external manifes- tations of nature, it falls short of success.
For thorough understanding of the development of French literature in the seventeenth century, we must consider it in three periods: (1) from the year 1600 to 16.59, the period of preparation; (2) 1659-1688, the Golden Age of classicism; (3) 1688-1715, the period of transition between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
First Period (1600-1659).-yWith the followers of Ronsard and those poets who immediately succeeded him a kind of lassitude had seized upon poetry at the end of the sixteenth century ; impoverished and spirit- less, it handled only trifling subjects. Besides, having been long subject to the artistic domination of Italy, and having owed allegiance to Spain also since the intervention of the Spaniards in the days of the League, poetry had become infected with mannerisms, and suffered a considerable lowering of tone. A reform was necessary, and Malherl)e. whose "Odes" appear between theyears 1601) and it i28, undertook it. From the first he repudiated the idea of servile imitation of ancient classical authors; discrimination should be shown in borrowing from their writings, and imitation should be restricted to features likely to strengthen the thought. On the other hand, if the language of
