Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1860-06-06
For the Spirit of the Age.
GLIMPSES AT VOLTAIRE.
FROM THE FRENCH OF DU LUCKET.
French Swans.

/
1t was at the age of nineteen that he COM
menced a career, crowned with somuch eclat.
It may not be useless, to review the state of
French Literature, at that era.
The death of Racine, which had taken
place fifteen years before, was still deeply re-
GREETED; and that age had commenced to re-
pair the iniustices of his own. Many persons
had already disavowed upon bis tomb, judg-
ments which had alone been dictated by a
spirit of envy. Corneille, in possession of
the theatre, was there regarded as a God in
mis- Temple. Crubillon, the heir Of this trag-
ic genius, had begun to perform upon the
stage, with Rhadamiste, who associated his
name with those of the two great masters of
the Art. Moliere, who had been in the tomb
fourteen years, was still without an heir to
his genius and humor. Du Fresni and Des-
touches aspired to supply the loss of the la
mented Regnard. The Regent of Literature,
Nicolas Boilean Despreaux, had closed his
eyes in death, leaving many a victim imola-
ted by his severity, and his productions as
eternal examples of bad taste and false wit
Rousseau, whose talents would atone,
if that were possible, for his errors and i'm
prudences, had been banished from his coun-
try, to appease outraged justice or perhaps
the vengeance of his enemies. Eontenells,
who enjoyed a varied reputation, much of
which was due to his extreme sociability,
was then the dictator in the Republic of Let
tiers though Literature had commenced to
yield to Science, this universal scholar. La
motto, initiating his example, had passed his
life in investigating the various departments
of learning. Piron, though possessing both
talent and wit, had not as yet achieved with
both, what perhaps might have been accom-
plished with one. Such were the men which
Mr.. Voltaire saw diffusely spread along thu
d~eclivity of the sacred mountain of Litera
ture, when he himself began to ascend at it
base.
On another side, History congratulated
herself at seeing her pencil, in the hands o
the Able de Vertot, whose brilliant colors al
fccted his subjects withoutan injury to truth
and with Bossuet she had nothing else to de
sire. Rollin, though without doubt too pre-
lx and too ~credulous, employed the lar
guage of simplicity and reason. DOrlean
clothed his errors in an attractive style; Bou
geant, though less ingenious, was more sol
id. D,Avrigni, of all the French, perhaps al
preached more closely the style of Taeitus
These were the models, to be copied by tn
historian of the cage of Louis XIV"
The Able dOlivet, whose chief merit wa
not that Of being the most exact of gramm;
rians. and Fenelon the best of whose me-
its was a superior intellect and a most pc
suasive %eloquence, occupied a high rank i
public esteem. The celebrated Montesquie
} was preparing his works which have been
: criticized and so much admired. Thes
l were among those with whom he advance
to the temple of glory. Malherbe, Cornell
1 Moliere, Lafountaine had already precede
5 him thither. What powers were requisite
1 mingle his name with names so immorta,
5 INVALID.
u Elm Cottage, Va.