Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-09-10

less OF OTatOTy, loIIu euS auseSiiey VI AVG |
principles in accordance with reason, found
. large number of interpreters. The I'M
Mortal Bossuet, the great Fenelon, the ele-
,ant Massilon, the gloomy Pascal and the
Jealous La Bruyere were the defenders OF
aith and mortality. These thoughts are
rom La Bruyere:
"a variable man has more than one
nature he changes his nature with every I
new taste and manner; at each moment he
IS what he was not, and will soon be
what he never was"
eff poverty is the mother of crime, |
ignorance must certainly be its father"
"There are but three events in the ex.
istence of man-birth, life and death. OF |
the first he is unconscious, the second he |
does not understand, and the last ne has |
to suffer"
''Most men employ one-half of their |
life to make the other miserable.
During that epoch theology and philoso-
ply met everywhere. Nine. de Sevigne |
mixed Jansenist dissertations with court
gossip and intimate condolences.
The eighteenth century, departing en-.
tirely from the preceding one in its general
IDEAS ard in spirit, sought still to draw
near its literary forms. Voltaire, the chief
figure of the eighteenth century, was also
the greatest admirer of the reign of Louis
XIV. He tried to rival with Racine in the
resurrection of Grecian tragedy but with
him motive and forms did not harmonic.
While he sought to initiate the preceding
stvle of writing, he became an lnnovator
and refor,ner himself His predecessors had
taught him to write, but contemporaneous
England taught him to think philosophy
and free thought took possession of him
he became a leader of a new school, and
had numerous followers. For three-quar-
tiers of century he fought for the franchise
of reason and the reform of errors.
MIA raisop est de rhomme ct lie guide ct lappiue
II papporte en- naissant, ellie croft ayee lui
reason is mans guide and support it is
born with him, it grows with him.
Fontenelle, Diderot and D'Alembert fol-
lowed his tracks; philosophy became the
ruling power. Materialism, into which
the century was drifting, had its advocates
against whom Voltaire sought, through
reason, to defend his religion OF nature.
The latter found a more ardent champion
in Jean-Jacques Rousseau, so notorious
through his passionate and extravagant
style of writing. Among the turmoil OF
dissensions and literary disputes OF that
century two great figures escaping from 1t
by the serene object of their studies were
Montesquieu and Button. Each pictured
with grand eloquence-the one, Man In
social life the other, Animal IN state OF
nature. They occupy high position poth
in literature and in science.
In the latter part of the eighteenth
century the principles of liberty and pro-
press were ably defended. The press,
the tribune and pamphlets disseminated
the ideas of Rousseau and Montesquleu
oratory became ruling fashion, and from
| Mirabeau to Danton, from Danton to
Robespierre the French language delighted
in oratory jousts yet poetry did not
abdicate. ana sought with Chenler to rise
again to Grecian inspiration and return to
its originality. The following sad and
touching incident occurred in the life OF
this noble poet During the French revo-
luton he was denounced to the revolution.
arv tribunal. innocently condemned to
death and executed. While the gulllotlne
was doing its bloody. work, and while
awaiting his turn, Chenier wrote this verse
CONNIE un dernier rayon, CONNIE un derniel
| Zephire
Anime Ia fin dun beau jour-
| Au pied de rechafaud Jessaye encore ma Tyre
Peut-etre est-ce bientot mon tour
GAS last sunbeam, as last zephyr,
| Enliyeps the close of beautiful day,
| /. waiting my doom at the foot OF the scanoid,
| Tune nv sweet Tyre and sing this last lay-)
FRENCH soCIABILrTY,
Giving to conversational talent gloss O
refinement and extreme politeness, caused
other nations to initiate and adopt Frencf
manners to such an extent that the frencf
language became fashionable Throughout
Europe. In this nineteenth century
literary change has taken place which per
vades and dominates the present epoch o
French literature, that is, the romance.
1t began through the critical theories O
Nine. de Stael, and gained strength undel
the influence of new Christian literature
which the works of Chateaubriand oppos
to the last efforts of an expiring classical art
The latter had lost its last support under tn
despotic military rule of the Empire
French literature languished under this re
straint tragedy and ode were not encour
aged; heroic poetry resolved itself In meal
court hattery and vulgar camp song
prose, history, politics and philosophy be
came silent and subjected to the control o
censure. The restless spirit of Frame
looked abroad for literary nourishmeut
Shakespeare's works were devoured witt
ayidity; Germany and other countrie
were ransacked for new excitement
when France found again two sources o
poetical inspiration the national spin
and religious feeling. De Lamartine II
his verses followed De Chateaubriand Il
his prose; Beranger, the great patriot
songster, gave to his songs variety, al
enthusiasm and patriotic interest whicl
Justify the popularity OF his name.
Eternite meant, passe sombres abimes,
cue faites-vous des jours que vous engloutissezF
Parlez: nous rendrez vous ces extases suolilhes
Que yous nous ravIssez t-lDe Lainartihe'
Cete sur cette boule,
Laid chetif ct souffrant;
Etouffe dams la foule,
Faute d'etre asSeZ grand
Une plainte touchante
| De ma bouche sortlt,
lie bon Dieu me dit: Chante,
Chante, pauvre petit. DE Beranser-
And now appeared V. Hugo as repre-
sentative of the romantic school, and threN
into the lyrical style an unexpected treas
ure of forms he transformed ode into
delicious music-into a charming picture
A host of followers threw themselves
his wake. Gauthier, Deschamp, Saint
Beuve and Alfred De Musset exerte
/, themselves in this new style. Romance
with Hugo, A. Dumas, De Vigny, an
others, became triumphant at the play
Theological philosophy under the guidanc
of De Bonald, Lamenais, Montalember
and Lacordaire stirred up the religion
I I world through its noisy eloquence
and modern light literature inaugu
rated by H. De Balzac, Dumas
Eugene Sue, Georges Sand and many 9th
ers, has become the main attraction for tn
/ majority of the French people. Hlstorl
{ and literary criticism has also been divide
among such distinguished men as Proud
. hon, Littre, Theirs, Michelet, Louis Blanc
Saint Mark Girardin, Guizot, Jules Janir
ETC., producing the greatest literary actly
ity ever seen in France. f. kEMEN.
Sacramento, September, 1851.
SETH GREENS SPIDER STORY.
If you anchor pole in body of waite
and put a spider upon it he will exhibi
= r,,rvaloua intellipence nv his plans to es