The Sun.
London, England, 1851-04-03 00:00:00

LITERATURE.
MAXIMS OF LA ROCIIEFOUCAULD.
Newly Translated from the French. Longman,
Brown, Green, and Longmans.
Surprising as it may appear, it has been reserved
for the present translator to produce the first English
version of La Rochefoucauld. Every previous at-
tempt of a similar kind has turned out a miserable
failure.
. .
wittiest
m
Until the volume before us was printed, the
to
in the world had yet to be introduced
an Englishaxims
auditory. Fortunately the scholar who
has at length undertaken the task, has displayed
throughout a wholesome knowledge of the requires
meets necessary for the fulfilment of his intentions,
and not only a knowledge of them, but an actual
possession of them into the bargain. lie has been
iteral almost to the limits of slavishness, and yet, in
spite of air this, he has trauformed the original words
into a language equally idiomatic. As in the French
so in the English—every sentence is an epigram. In
this consists the value of the achievement. What
statutes the splendour of these maxims, sen-
tences, and moral reflections, is their intensely
and essentially epigrammatic character. Not a
truth is uttered but in the utterance it
comes to light witticism ! It is as if the speaker
were like the Princess in the oriental romance, whose
words were precious stones, and from whose lips as
she talked fell perpetually a shower of diamonds, and
pearls, and rubies, and amethysts, and sapphires, and
garner,. and emeralds. La Rochefoucauld, scrupulous
it
ts
.13 his search after truth—truth, alas !as bitter as
aboutf the manner in
vdwiesmile-was, if possible, yet more solicitous
theo
thing which be spoke than the veracity
spoken. Hence, we repeat, his exqui-
'stets)? oPigrammatic character. Depressing as most
tohr the maxims indubitably are, there are some never-
becausethe leesonly of these we are thankful on behalf of many
uadreda of English readers to this the latest and
Den of the translators of La Rochefoucauld. How
noble for example is that exclamation—" It belongs
°nil' to great men to have great faults." That
i 8
the most touching and most rational, as well
as the most
faults magnanimous, extenuation of the
attributed to our Caesars and our Napo-
iseAs. Again, what truth lies in that sentence,
" we grow old we become more foolish and more
11;Lse." What a key, that, to the character of Polonius
oometimes we light upon an old friend in the form of
a saying attributed elsewhere. Thus one maxim
ewnreences "Nothing is.impossible," a saying by
many fathered upon the modern Sesostris. How ex-
9uisite again that utterance—" Youth is perpetual
Intoxication • it is the fever of reason." And what
adroitness of expression there is in the opinion," Ab-
sence diminishes moderate passions and increases
great Ones, as the wind extinguishes tapers and adds
1111T..t0 fire." Never was metaphor more judicious.
The unknown translator has added very considerably
to the charm, and with that also to the value of his
volume, by foot-notes revealing either plagiarisms or
kindred thoughts in other writers, ancient and modern.
It is especially interesting to contrast inthismanner
the way in which nearly the same ideas aredifferently
ezyressed by the Due De La
Rochefoucauld and
(Itner authors of distinguished reputation—ranging
from Seneca to La Bruyere, from Tacitus to Sterne,
from Theophrastus to Bulwer Lytton. Such is this
complete and admirable version of a work which
Johnion eulogized, although it was penned by a
rsaa of fashion, a work which Rousseau calls " livre
triste et desolant," and Voltaire has commended as
having contributed largely to form the taste of the
French nation and to give it a spirit of justness and
precisiOn.

--- --- -
THE MA GAZINES, &c.
NEW MONTHLY.
Progress is made rather amusingly in the serial story
commenced under the title of " All the World and his
Wife, or what brought everybody to London in 1851;"
so that we are obtaining information of the
"doings" during the Great Exhibition even prior to its
commencement. Much entertainment we doubt not, will be
derived by the subscribers of the New Monthly from
these facetious contributions. The adventures of M.
tthAdolphe Cuqueliot will assuredly, at least, provoke
eir laughter. His idea that the English language is
surnmed up in the monosyllable " Yas," and the horrid consequences of his indulging in a plentiful use of mus-
tard with his " buff," are humorous to the extent of ex-
travagance. Is the author Mr. Jolly Green? And if
so' Why suppress the old familiar, end, we may add with
many favourite soubriquet? An elaborate article upon
" GoLn" is conspicuous among the miscellaneous papers,
and is enough to make the mouth water even with the
leest avaricious, Several remarkable works lately
published are reviewed at some length, such, for
example..
.as Mr. Dennistoun'a delightful " Memoirs
bodgetuo Dukes of Urbino" and Mr. Borrow's extravagant
I:,outrdge entitled " L'Avengro." We regret to see
from . uance, in the New Monthly Magazine, of papers
the handof contributorhas already tar-
nished it a who .
Pages with articles scarcely admissible in the
most licentio
h.,,,..,__ us of the French feuelletons. Those who.
"u.iong revelled in the helter-skelter race run during
hie sty chaPtets bY Soapey sponge, in the narration of
is
anions " Sporting Tour, will will regret its conclusion
1, he present number for ' •spirit of the per-
Lerman April. The ce, protracted es the tale has been during so
many months. has not flagged up to the last, so that the
thr ter is enabled to wind up his story with his old en-
andulisnitogether, the series has proved the wittiest
cpleasantest, upon matters relatin to the turf, published for a considerable time past'g " Dandy Nat's
t ourtship," though somewhat silly in parts, and vulgar
;11broughout, is still provocative of risibility in its deae-
,!fli- Another of the Powerful papers on " Russian
.ceplomacy" already noticed as adorning the ftew
Nonthly; brings the current number of the magazine to
4 very satisfactory conclusion.

Fraser FRASER.
tintaber
for
rat achteved that which,
until we had read his
April, 1851
1, we had ered to be an im
h haproduced a Budgetconsid which is even more
4bau ocir..d_,l° * e
more objectionable than that " precious"
such which has procured for Sir Charles Wood
:lunenviable notoriety. This Budget is propounded
ig!._
athe.conclusion of an elaborate paper on the various
__end projects and calculations of Lord Stanley and of
to`rUharlss Wood, in the course of which the writer de-
%Zees •in indignant terms the proposition of Lord
4_er
17 for a five-shilling duty on corn, "as open to
serious objections; that it would enhance the
1;0Le?'of the .41b. loaf by at least a halfpenny; that it
11411!4 impose on the consumer a tax of upwards of three
I°l2li that it would check the progress of improve-
far6iznt_. in agriculture; that though it were to benefit the
h er bY the enhanced price of corn, it would injure him
eeY.,lesBening the demand for othr produce of the soil;
thatthis injury he would share with the mannfacturer." "Lpoe then
„ proposes that a 2s. 61, duty should be ins-
aCe4 on the importation, which 2s. 6d. is as complete a
eetender of the prineiplo of free trade, and is as ob-
,,Xieus to all the above objections as a ss. duty could
Yotiti 1y but we will give this model Budget of the
4 Englanders in extenso :-
0,4 Proposition 1.-That in all future measures of finance,
Cexemptions, whether of any constituent part of the United
ty:0111, or of members of a class, should be carefully
rat°
and that the new taxes imposed should be so mode-
amount as not to require speedy revision and re-
418etiee.
di:111. That the window-tax should be abolished, and a new
ire-ponsetedatsd uniform house-tax of 6d. in the pound should be
Thu 11, That the income-tax should be modified as follows:
is ihl3o centageunder Schedules A and C to continue at id.
dee:: Pound the per centage under Schedule Bto be re-
-61,,° 3d. in the pound; and the per centage under
e.
I.'l'B and Bto be reduced to sd. in the pound.
ter:V*
of ,Thitt in lieu of the proposed duty of ss. on the guar-
Per wn!at, by which the present duty would be raised from
ts een'• ou a price of 50s. to 10 per cent., and the price
be joie 41b. loaf be increased by 1/4., a duty of 2s. 6d. should
PrCeP,°se(l, by which the duty would become 5 per cent. on
an
°' 50s"
and the price of the 4 lb. loaf be raised less
aeon farthing
ilTilat a.duty of 5 per cent should be also imposed
4t
`rive animals, and on fresh, dried, and salted meat.
fate That the excise on soap and paper should share the
vorfTthe window-tax, and be forthwith abolished.
tee I!.•That in order to meet the deficiency in the reye-
ser March these reductions would occasion, and to provide
be surplus in future years, the following new taxes should
1, ,Phlbsed, or alterations in existing taxes made :-
Th paper-maker's licence to be raised from 41. 4s. tz. 4 1081.
23:toleeoLsoap-maker's licence to be also raised from
A bricks maker's licence (in consideration of the recent
ttiTilission of the excise duty on bricks), to be imposed to
4, A° aitaeunt of 10/.
De„%ass-maker's licence (for the same reason) to be im-
. E athe same amount of 10/.
of „frY vendor of paper and every bookseller, every vendor
of %it and every vendor of soap (in consideration also
licence remission of the excise on these articles) to pay a
of the same amount as that now paid by appraisers,
6. TCalcole vendors, and dealers in game, namely, 2/.
i 0 tax upon armorial bearings to be raised to 5/. ss.
oathe ease of baronets, and to 10/. 10s. in the case
. I titled persons- above that rank ; to 3/. 3s, in the
t °f untitled persons keeping a coach or carriage;
,t'Z2B, in the case of persons not keeping g a coachor
'age, but keeping a male servant; and to 1/. 15. in all
Out bat
,4. ml) id. to be affixed to every cheque drawn upon
°Ai du
teals,ty erOf i
9.d. to be levied at the pit's mouth on every ton
ut
ds d
ed Y 9f id. to be levied at all gasworks on every hun-
-10, Ail cubic feet of gas..
relat•sullis left by persons dying intestate, and having no
great ives more nearly related than half-brother or_seisteeerl
eheatArandsoe, great nephew, or first cousin, to b
th !air. The Crown.
entire surplus revenue which shall accrue till
4°eli ls)s inclusive to be devoted to the remission of
tar
th°wl as bears most directly on the diffusion of
e whole, and the discouragement of habits of prudence;
Year 18 rPlus which shall accrue from the year 1856 to
~'"f year N , b oth inclusive, to be devoted to the reduction
seati6oonal Debt."
p,
I,l4teee„ ri.r°Positions might, under ordinary circum-
-, me treated •
tat fatewith that contempt whichh
is to na-
W of the lueubrations of amateur Chancellors
I:articular .r4ltehe.quer, did they nut appear at this
titilgan of trista in a periodical which is the
Ceoaer, ut) Gladstone and Puseyite section of
eoceind,satives; and judging from these propositions
t_latiojes
0: that it would be leas unsafe to entrust the
;_4141 to ILI the
empire to even Lord Stanley himself
1'91314 b.rao who, like the authors of this proposition,
"titlett ;re who,
legislation upon the principles of the
to octrines of Socialism. The tenth alteration
`toned;-- Under proposition seven, goes much further
°I '44 d •
sr conficcation than do the propcsitions
4149Nseeitilbtes snd op only be paralleled by