BELISE (à Henriette). Quoi! sans émotion pendant cette lecture Vous faites là, ma nièce, une étrange figure. HENRIETTE. Chacun fait ici-bas la figure qu'il peut, Ma tante; et bel esprit, il ne l'est pas qui veut.1 TRISSOTIN. Peut-être que mes vers importunent madame. PHILAMINTE. Ah! voyons l'épigramme. TRISSOTIN. Sur un carrosse de couleur amarante donné à une dame de ses amies. PHILAMINTE. Ses titres ont toujours quelque chose de rare. ARMANDE. A cent beaux traits d'esprit leur nouveauté prépare. TRISSOTIN. L'amour si chèrement m'a vendu son lien, PHILAMINTE, ARMANDE ET BÉLISE. Ah! TRISSOTIN. Qu'il m'en coûte déjà la moitié de mon bien; Où tant d'or se relève en bosse, Et fait pompeusement triompher ma Laïs ARMANDE. Qu'il étonne tout le pays Et fait pompeusement triompher ma Laïs, Dis plutôt qu'il est de ma rente. Oh! oh! oh! celui-là ne s'attend point du tout. PHILAMINTE. On n'a que lui qui puisse écrire de ce goût. Dis plutôt qu'il est de ma rente. Voilà qui se décline, ma rente, de ma rente, à ma rente. Si, sur votre sujet, j'eus l'esprit prévenu; Mais j'admire partout vos vers et votre prose. TRISSOTIN (à Philaminte). Si vous vouliez de vous nous montrer A notre tour aussi nous pourrions admirer. [quelque chose, PHILAMINTE. Je n'ai rien fait en vers; mais j'ai lieu d'espérer Que je pourrai bientôt vous montrer en amie, Nowadays we should say: Bel esprit ne l'est pas qui veut. 2 Such expressions as: je suis venu en carrosse, j'attends mon carrosse would not be used now by any one except a parvenu. Gentlemen say ma voiture, les voitures du roi, etc. However carrosse still subsists in the phrase: Il roule carrosse meaning il est riche. 3 I. e. jusqu'à l'exécution. LA ROCHEFOUCAULD. SKETCH OF HIS LIFE AND WORKS. FRANÇOIS, DUC DE LA ROCHEFOUCAULD, who bore for some time the title of prince de Marsillac, was born at Paris in 1613 and died in 1680. He was a man of remarkable courage but even more remarkable aptitude for intrigue. As he cordially hated Cardinal Mazarin he joined the party of the Fronde, and took an active, though only subordinate, part in the civil wars which disturbed the country during the minority of Louis XIV. Having made his peace at court, he was afterwards appointed governour of Poitou, and the latter years of his life he spent in the society of Mme de Lafayette1 and Mme de Sévigné.2 The work which has established his reputation as an author is a collection of aphorisms, entitled Réflexions ou Sentences morales, which generally goes by the name of le livre des Maximes. It was published in 1665. La Rochefoucauld's style has given him a place among the best writers of the age of Louis XIV, but judged by its contents, his work, as J. J. Rousseau said, is a sad kind of book, for the Maximes assign self-love as the only motive of all human actions, good, bad or indifferent. MAXIME S.3 (2) L'amour-propre est le plus grand de tous les flatteurs. (3) Quelque découverte que l'on ait faite dans le pays de l'amourpropre, il y reste encore bien des terres inconnues. (19) Nous avons tous assez de force pour supporter les maux d'autrui. (25) Il faut de plus grandes vertus pour soutenir la bonne fortune que la mauvaise. (26) Le soleil ni la mort ne se peuvent regarder fixement. (34) Si nous n'avions point d'orgueil, nous ne nous plaindrions pas de celui des autres. (38) Nous promettons selon nos espérances, et nous tenons selon nos craintes. (49) On n'est jamais si heureux ni si malheureux qu'on s'imagine. (67) La bonne grâce est au corps ce que le bon sens est à l'esprit. 1 Mme de Lafayette (1634-1693) made a name in literature by her novels (Zaïde, la Princesse de Clèves, la Comtesse de Tende, etc.), which were very popular, and by her literary parties. Vid. sup. Molière, the introduction to the Précieuses Ridicules, p. 63. 2 Cf. the sketch of the life and works of Mme de Sévigné, p. 134. Our text is that given in the edition of M. Gilbert, being a part of the Grands écrivains de la France published under the direction of M. A. Regnier. It is in the same as that of the edition of 1678, the last which was published during the life of La Rochefoucauld. (79) Le silence est le parti le plus sûr de celui qui se défie de soi-même. (84) Il est plus honteux de se défier de ses amis que d'en être trompé. (89) Tout le monde se plaint de sa mémoire, et personne ne se plaint de son jugement. (110) On ne donne rien si libéralement que ses conseils. (112) Les défauts de l'esprit augmentent en vieillissant, comme ceux du visage. (115) Il est aussi facile1 de se tromper soi-même sans s'en apercevoir, qu'il est difficile de tromper les autres sans qu'ils s'en aperçoivent. (127) Le vrai moyen d'être trompé, c'est de se croire plus fin que les autres. (134) On n'est jamais si ridicule par les qualités que l'on a que par celles que l'on affecte d'avoir. (138) On aime mieux dire du mal de soi-même que de n'en point parler. (140) Un homme d'esprit serait souvent bien embarrassé sans la compagnie des sots. (147) Peu de gens sont assez sages pour préférer le blâme qui leur est utile à la louange qui les trahit.2 (158) La flatterie est une fausse monnaie qui n'a de cours que par notre vanité. (164) Il est plus facile de paraître digne des emplois qu'on n'a pas que de ceux que l'on exerce. (196) Nous oublions aisément nos fautes lorsqu'elles ne sont sues que de nous. (199) Le désir de paraître habile empêche souvent de le devenir. (212) La plupart des gens ne jugent des hommes que par la vogue qu'ils ont ou par leur fortune. (218) L'hypocrisie est un hommage que le vice rend à la vertu. (226) Le trop grand empressement qu'on a de s'acquitter d'une obligation est une espèce d'ingratitude. (243) Il y a peu de choses impossibles 3 d'elles-mêmes, et l'application pour les faire réussir nous manque plus que les moyens. (249) Il n'y a pas moins d'éloquence dans le ton de la voix, dans les yeux et dans l'air de la personne que dans le choix des paroles. (250) La véritable éloquence consiste à dire tout ce qu'il faut, et à ne dire que ce qu'il faut. (294) Nous aimons toujours ceux qui nous admirent, et nous n'aimons pas toujours ceux que nous admirons. (303) Quelque bien qu'on nous dise de nous, on ne nous apprend rien de nouveau. (327) Nous n'avouons de petits défauts que pour persuader que nous n'en avons pas de grands. (342) L'accent du pays où l'on est né demeure dans l'esprit et dans le cœur, comme dans le langage. (431) Rien n'empêche tant d'être naturel que l'envie de le paraître. (487) Nous avons plus de paresse dans l'esprit que dans le corps. 1 V. 1.: Il est aussi aisé de se tromper sans s'en apercevoir, etc. 2 V. L: pour aimer mieux le blâme qui leur sert que 3 V. 1.: Il n'y a point de choses impossibles. LA FONTAINE, SKETCH OF HIS LIFE AND WORKS.1 JEAN DE LA FONTAINE was born in 1621 at Château-Thierry, a small town in Champagne, where his father held the office of overseer of the woods and forests. He was educated at the grammarschool of Reims and afterwards entered the seminary with a view to being ordained; but he soon discovered that he had no vocation for the church. His father then transferred his office to him and married him to a young lady of very tender years; but the life of the young pair was not a happy one, and they soon separated by mutual consent. As to his duties, La Fontaine performed them for some time longer, that is, he used now and then to take a walk through the woods committed to his charge, but he got rid of the appointment as soon as he could by selling it to another, as was the custom in those days. After leaving the seminary La Fontaine devoted himself to reading the works of Marot, Rabelais, Amyot,2 Boccacio and Ariosto.3 He delighted in them, but his favourite author was Terence and the first work he composed a comedy, which, like the rest of his dramatic works, is forgotten nowadays. But it brought him into contact with Molière, whose company was then performing in the provinces, and also with Racine and Boileau. La Fontaine soon found a kind patron in the person of Fouquet, superintendent of finances, who was then at the height of his power, and who promised the young poet a pension, on condition of his always giving him verses by way of receipts. But in 1661 the great minister was suddenly arrested by order of the king and charged with embezzlement and waste of public moneys. Fears were even entertained for Fouquet's life, for his enemies had done their utmost to incense Louis XIV against him. La Fontaine, with a constancy rare in that time-serving age, did not desert his benefactor; he pleaded his cause with the king in the Élégie aux Nymphes de Vaux, which established his reputation as a poet. In 1669 La Fontaine began to publish those fables which have made his name immortal. His subjects are nearly all taken from Aesop and Phaedrus, but his manner of treating them is in every case original. Their graceful ease, their naïve humour, their delicate sentiment, their variety of tone, all combine to make La Fontaine's fables perfect of their kind. In them and some other poems less 3 We have followed Walkenaër, Héguin de Guerle, and Geruzez. 2 Cf. the Introduction, p. XLII. BOCCACIO (1313-1375) a celebrated Italian writer, author of the Decameron, a collection of tales, which is esteemed one of the masterpieces of Italian prose. ARIOSTO, (1474-1533), a famous Italian poet, author of the Orlando furioso. 4 Vaux is the name of a castle near Melun, which Fouquet had built for himself. Its magnificence and the enormous sums he had spent 'on its construction were among the causes of his downfall. He was tried by a judicial committee composed of his greatest enemies, found guilty, and imprisoned in the castle of Pignerol, where he died after 19 years of confinement. worthy of notice, he presented literature with a dialect uniting the vigour and simplicity of the language of the age of Francis I with the elegance of that of Louis XIV. In 1683, after the death of Colbert, La Fontaine was elected a member of the French Academy, but the king, who had never looked kindly on him and who preferred his competitor Boileau, disapproved of his election. Nevertheless the academicians were independent enough to abide by their choice, and the following year, when another vacancy occurred, the two rival candidates by permission of the king took possession of their seats together. Owing to his careless habits and neglect of business, La Fontaine had very early found himself in embarrassed circumstances; luckily for him he was freed from all worldly cares by the kindness of Mme de la Sablière, a lady distinguished alike by her talents and her charity. He lived in her family for twenty years, and when she died found the same hospitable reception in the house of Hervart, a councillor of the Parliament of Paris. In his latter years he suffered from a severe illness, which, while it spared his life, turned his thoughts towards religion. He disowned those of his writings which had given offence, and spent the remainder of his days in translating Latin hymns into French. He died in 1695, being then nearly seventy-four years of age. THE FABLES. For the last two centuries La Fontaine's fables have been the most popular of all works in France; indeed they have acquired an educational value second to none, and generation after generation has profited by their study. Such a book must necessarily have had a vast influence on the development of the language, and an acquaintance with it is indispensable to any one who wishes to acquire a thorough knowledge of French. It would be a great mistake to suppose that these fables are only fit for children to read; quite on the contrary, they must be studied attentively at a riper age, to thoroughly understand and appreciate their beauties. In this Manual we shall only be able to acquaint the reader with a very limited number of fables, but we shall review separately the twelve books which make up the work (a work easily procurable) and point out the pieces most worthy of the reader's attention.' BOOK I. The opening fables of this book, such as la Cigale et la Fourmi (fab. 1), le Corbeau et le Renard (fab. 2), le Loup et le Chien (fab 5), are extremely simple, and well adapted for the study or amusement of the young, but they are followed by some of a higher order. Le Rat de ville et le Rat des champs (fab. 9) is only a slight sketch, which does not come up to Horace's masterly picture (Sat. II, 6) but l'Hirondelle et les petits Oiseaux (fab. 8), le Loup et l'Agneau (fab. 10) and le Renard et la Cigogne (fab. 18) are in their way inimitable and the work of a perfect artist. The masterpiece of this book is the last fable, le Chêne et le Roseau (fab. 21), which unites all the characteristics of La Fontaine's style, grace, vigour, and simplicity. The edition of the Fables, which we should recommend for the use of schools are those of Geruzez and Dezobry. |