CHAPTER I.

FROM MALHERBE TO BOILEAU.

The supplanting of Italy by France 240 Brilliancy of the French representatives 241 Malherbe 242 The _Commentary on Desportes_ 244 What can be said for his criticism 246 Its defects stigmatised at once by Regnier 247 His _Ninth Satire_ 247 The contrast of the two a lasting one 249 The diffusion of seventeenth century criticism 250 Vaugelas 251 Balzac 252 His Letters 252 His critical Dissertations 253 Ogier and the Preface to _Tyr et Sidon_ 254 Chapelain: the hopelessness of his verse 257 The interest of his criticism 257 The _Sentiments de l’Académie sur le Cid_ 258 Prefaces 259 _Sur les Vieux Romans_ 260 Letters, &c. 261 Corneille 261 The Three _Discourses_ 263 The _Examens_ 263 La Mesnardière—Sarrasin—Scudéry 264 Mambrun 266 Saint-Evremond 268 His critical quality and accomplishment 269 His views on Corneille 270 On Christian subjects, &c. 270 On Ancients and Moderns 270 Gui Patin—his judgment of Browne 272 Tallemant, Pellisson, Ménage, Madame de Sévigné 273 The _Ana_ other than Ménage’s, especially 274 The _Huetiana_ 275 _Valesiana_ 275 _Scaligerana_ 276 And _Parrhasiana_ 276 Patru, Desmarets, and others 277 _Malebranche_ 279

The history of Boileau’s reputation 280 The _Art Poétique_ 281 Its false literary history 281 Abstract of it 282 Critical examination of it 286 Want of originality 287 Faults of method 287 Obsession of good sense 288 Arbitrary proscriptions 289 Boileau’s other works 290 The _Satires_ 290 The _Epigrams_ and _Epistles_ 292 Prose—The _Héros de Roman_; the _Réflexions sur Longin_ 292 The “Dissertation on _Joconde_” 293 A “Solifidian of Good Sense” 295 The plea for his practical services 296 Historical examination of this 296 Concluding remarks on him 299 La Bruyère and Fénelon 300 The “Des Ouvrages de l’Esprit” 301 General observations 302 Judgments of authors 303 Fénelon. The _Dialogues sur l’Eloquence_ 305 _Sur les Occupations de l’Académie Française_ 306 And its challenge to correctness 307 The Abbé D’Aubignac 309 His _Pratique du Théâtre_ 309 Rapin 310 His method partly good 311 His particular absurdities as to Homer in blame 311 As to Virgil in praise 312 As to others 313 The reading of his riddle 313 Le Bossu and the Abstract Epic 314 Bouhours 315 Encyclopædias and Newspapers 316 Bayle 316 Baillet 317 The ethos of a Critical Pedant 318 Gibert 319 The Ancient and Modern Quarrel 320 Its small critical value 321