FRANCE
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FRANCE
In his "M^moires" (coiniilctcil in 1675) Cardinal de
Retz furnishes us a modt'l for this class of writing. In
the " Princesse de Cleves" (l(i7.S) Madame de La Fay-
ette created the psychological romance. Finally, it
would be a misconception of the classical genius not to
allow to religious inspiration a marked place in this
period. The whole course of the seventeenth century
was deeply permeated by the spirit of religion. Few
of its writers escaped that influence; and those who
did, also remained outside the general current and the
philosophic movement of the centuiy. Pulpit ora-
tory, too, reached a high degree of excellence. The
first years of the century had been, so to say, fragrant
with the oratorj' of that most lovable of saints, Fran-
cois de Sales (1567-1622). He had, in 1602, preached
the Lenten sermons before Henry IV at the Louvre,
and ravished his hearers by the unction of his dis-
course, overflowing with a wealth of pleasing imagery.
The religious revival was then universal; orders were
foimded or reformed. Among them the Oratorians,
like the Jesuits, produced more than one remarkable
and vigorous preacher. The Jansenists, in their turn,
introduced into pulpit eloquence a sober style without
any great wealth of fancy, without vivacity or bril-
liancy, but simple, grave, imiform. Thus, sacred elo-
quence, already flourishing before 1600, gradually rid
itself of the defects from which it had suffered in the
preceding period — the trivialities, the tawdry refine-
ments, the abuse of profane learning. It was espe-
cially during the brilliant period e.xtending from 1059
to loss that Christian eloquence reached its greatest
power and perfection, when its two most illustrious
representatives were Bossuet and Bourdaloue.
In 1C59 Bossuet preached in Paris, at the Minims, his first course of Lenten sermons; during the next ten years hLs mighty voice was heard pouring forth elo- quent sermons, panegyrics, and funeral orations. Animated, earnest, and familiar in his sermons, sub- lime in his funeral orations, simple and lucid in theo- logical expositions, he always carried out the principle, embodied in a celebrated definition, "of employing the word only for the thought, and the thought for truth and virtue". Not only is he a magnificent ora- tor, the greatest that ever occupied the pulpit in France, but he is also, perhaps, the writer who has had the most delicate appreciation of the French language. Furthermore, it must not be forgotten that Bossuet, in his " Discourse on Universal History" (lOSl), did the work of a historian. He is, indeed, the only historian of the seventeenth centuiy. In the art of investigat- ing historical causes, he is a master of exceptional penetration, and his conclusions have been confirmed by the most recent discoveries of historical science. He founded the philosophy of history, and Montes- quieu, in the following century, had but little to add to his work. Bourdaloue, who ascended the pulpit left vacant by Bossuet (1069), is a verj'ditTerent man. In Bourdaloue we do not find the abruptness and famil- iarity of Bossuet, but an unbroken evenness, a style always regular and symmetrical, above all a logician; he appeals to the reason, rather than to the imagina- tion and the sensibilities.
From loss to 1715. — In the short space of eighteen years classical literature was in its glory. It resulted from the eiiuilibrium between all the forces of society and all the faculties of the mind, an equilibrium not destined to last long. It, during the last years of the century, the great wTiters still living preserve their powers unimpaired to the end, we feel, nevertheless, that new forces are forming. In 16SS, the king, aged and absorbed by the cares of his foreign policy, ceased to take his former interest in literature. Dis- cipline becomes relaxed. The salon, which for a while had been eclipsed by the Court, gradually regained its ascendancy. Under its influence, preciosity, which had disappeared during the great period of classicism, began to revive. This becomes evident in a depart-
ment in which it would seem the prfcieux would have
but little interest, that of sacred eloquence. FlOchier
marks an inordinate propensity to wit anil frivolities
of language. Massillon, who is Fl^chier's heir, lacks
the fine equilibrium between thought and form which
was found in Bossuet. He is a wonderful rhetorician
wiio sacrifices too much to the adornments of style.
Besides, the conception of style prevalent from 1659 to
168S underwent a change. In the writers of the golden
age the period was, perhaps, somewhat too long, but it
was broad and spacious, effectively reproducing the
movements of the thought; it was now replaced by a
shorter plu-ase, more rapid and more incisive. This
new style is that of the " Caracteres " of La Bruyere
(loss). The appearance of the "Caracteres" marks,
furtliermore, a stiO more important change in taste.
La Bruyere, unlike the great classics, does not give
himself up to the general and abstract study of man;
what he paints is not the man of all time, but the man
of his own day, his looks, his vices, and his riiliculous
traits. Picturesque details and outward peculiarities
constitute the great attraction in the style of the
"Caracteres"; these, too, distinguish it from the
works of the preceding period. The same artistic
qualities are also found in Saint-Simon, who ditl not
write his "M^moires" until after 1722, the materials
for which he had been collecting since 1690. He is a
writer, however, who from many points of view is con-
nected with the seventeenth century. Saint-Simon
not only gives a moral portrait of the person dealt
with in ins " Memoires ", but by dint of violent colours,
of contrasting touches, daring figures combined into a
brutal, incorrect, passionate, and feverish style, he
reproduces the physical man to the life. In dramatic
literature comedy follows the same tendencies. After
Moliere, and after Regnard, who imitated him, the
comedy of character comes to an end, and with Dan-
court (1001-1725), the comedy of manners, which liaa
its inspiration in the actual, replaces it. Lastly, len-
elon introduces into literature a spirit utterly foreign
to the pure classics, so reverent of tradition — the
sjiirit of novelty. Telemaque (1099), a romance imi-
tated from antiquity, records the views of the autlior
on government, foreshadows the eighteenth century,
and its mania for reform.
The Eighteenth Century. — ^To do justice to the wri- ters of the eighteenth century, we mast change our point of view. In truth, the eighteenth century's conception of literature differed profoundly from that of the great writers of the time of Louis XIV. The eigliteenth century, moreover, never rises above medi- ocrity when it attempts to follow in the footsteps of the seventeenth, but is always interesting when it breaks loose from it. To follow its literary develop- ment, we must divide it, like the preceding century, into three periods: (1) 1715-50; (2) 1750-89; (3) 17S9-1S00.
From 1715 to 1750.— After the death of Louis XH, the tendencies which already manifested themselves in the last period of the seventeenth century become more markeil. The classical ideal becomes more and more distorted and weakened. Con.sequently, all the great branchcsof literature whicii flourished by follow- ing this ideal either decay or arc radically modified. The tragic vein in particular is completely exhausted. After Racine, there are no longer any great writers of traged.v. but only imitators, of whom the most bril- liant is A'oltaire, whose versatility fits him for every kind of literature. Comedy shows more vitality than tragedy. With Dancourt it had taken the direction of portrayal of manners in their most fleeting aspects, and the tendency betrays itself in Lesage (lOOS-1747). " Turcaret ", which places on the stage not a character, but a condition in life — that of the financier, is a piece of flirect, profound, and merciless observation. Ap- plying the same methods to romantic literature, Le- sage wrote "Gil Bias", which first appeared in 1715,
