tragedies were all bad, but whose operas were considered well written.
(See page 175, note 4.) He died in 1688, one year before the appearance
of this paragraph.
[604] J. Chapelain (1595-1674), the author of _La Pucelle dʼOrléans_,
an epic poem of which only twelve cantos appeared, was the wealthiest
of all the authors of his time. _Rodogune, Princesse des Parthes_, one
of the most successful tragedies of Pierre Corneille, had been acted
in 1644, and this great dramatist died in poverty and want twenty
years later, at the age of seventy-eight, four years before the above
paragraph was published.
[605] Bathyllus is Le Basque or Pécourt (see page 67, note 2); the
names of several long-forgotten female dancers or singers are given
for Rhoe, Roscia—the feminised name of the celebrated Roman actor
Roscius—and Nerina.
[606] An allusion to the wife of Dancourt (1661-1725), an author and
comic actor, who is, as an actress, said to have been neither beautiful
nor excellent.
[607] According to the “Keys,” the actor referred to was Baron (see
page 67, note 2), or Champmeslé (1642-1701), an author and actor, and
the husband of a lady known to posterity as a friend of the poet Racine.
[608] The Cardinal dʼEstrées (1628-1714) was a member of the French
Academy: his nephew, the Marshal, was considered a learned and polished
gentleman. There were several magistrates of the name of Séguier, of
whom the best known is the Chancellor Séguier (1588-1672). The Duke
de Montausier, the former governor of the Dauphin, the husband of
Mademoiselle de Rambouillet, and the supposed original of Molièreʼs
_Misanthrope_, was still alive when his name appeared, but died about a
year later, in 1690. The Duke de Chevreuse, afterwards Duke de Luynes
(1620-1690), an author of moral and religious works, was a friend of
the Port-Royalists. The first President of the Parliament, Potier de
Novion, was a member of the Academy, and died in 1693. There were two
Lamoignons—the first, President of the Parliament, who died in 1677,
and his son, Chrétien François, _président à mortier_, the friend of
Boileau and Racine, who lived till 1709. Paul Pellisson (1624-1693),
the friend and defender of Fouquet, became perpetual secretary to the
French Academy, of which he wrote a history, and was considered the
ugliest man of his time. M. de la Bruyère adds in a footnote, that in
speaking of Scudéry, he meant Mademoiselle Scudéry, to distinguish her
from her brother Georges, also an author; this lady wrote a good many
novels then in vogue (see page 123, note 1), and died in 1701, more
than ninety years old. For de Harlay see page 237, note 1; for Bossuet
see page 47, note 4; and for Wardes or Vardes see page 197, note 2.
[609] The Duke de Chartres (1674-1723), only seventeen years old
when this paragraph appeared, was reputed very clever for his age;
he afterwards became the Regent dʼOrléans. By Condé, either the
great Condé, who died in 1686, or his son Henri-Jules, the father
of La Bruyèreʼs pupil, was meant. For François-Louis, Prince de
Conti (1634-1709), see page 273, note; his father, Armand de Bourbon
(1629-1666), had first been an admirer and then an antagonist of
Molière. For Bourbon and Vendôme see page 221, note; there was also a
celebrated general, the Duke de Vendôme (1654-1712). The Duke de Maine
(1670-1736), the eldest of the children of Louis XIV. and Madame de
Montespan, was twenty years old when his name appeared in the above
paragraph, and was considered a prodigy of learning.
[610] The Cardinal dʼOssat (1536-1604) became an able diplomatist and
statesman, after having been professor of rhetoric and philosophy at
the University of Paris; Cardinal Ximenes (1437-1517) published several
works of Aristotle, founded the University of Alcala, and promoted
the publishing of a polyglot Bible before becoming prime minister of
Charles V. of Spain. Richelieu (see page 261, note 2) wrote several
theological works, some tragedies, and founded the French Academy.
[611] The original has _grimaud_, also used by Trissotin in addressing
Vadius in Molièreʼs _Femmes Savantes_, act iii, scene 5: “Allez, petit
grimaud, barbouilleur de papier.”
[612] Jérôme Bignon (1589-1656) was a celebrated magistrate; his
son was also a scholar, and his grandson, the Abbé Jean-François
(1662-1743), was a member of the French Academy. For the Lamoignons see
page 333, note 2.
[613] Plato expresses this idea in the seventh book of his “Republic,”
but it was often in the mouth of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius
(121-180), called Antoninus, as being the adopted son of Antoninus Pius.
[614] Henri III. of France is said to have fainted if he caught sight
of a cat, and some commentators state a certain Abbé de Drubec (see
page 112, note) had this weakness. Shakespeare, in the _Merchant of
Venice_ (act iv. scene 1) also says, “Some that are mad, if they behold
a cat.”
[615] In our authorʼs time there were only feather beds or straw
palliasses, but no flock beds.
[616] The original has _praticien_. See page 153, note 3.
[617] A footman. We have already seen in the chapter “Of the Town”
(page 137, note 1) how many footmen became financiers of the highest
order.
[618] This stands for Antoine Benoît, the royal waxwork maker, who had
a gallery of waxworks called _cercle royal_.
[619] B ... was a certain Barbereau who sold Seine water for mineral
water, or perhaps Brimbeuf, another quack, who sold a specific for
perpetual youth.
[620] This may be Caretti (see page 186, note 4), or Domenico Ammonio,
another Italian quack.
[621] A good many panders at the court of Louis XIV. were politely
called Mercuries, after the messenger of Jupiter; it is therefore
difficult to say whom La Bruyère meant. Some say he spoke of Bontemps,
first _valet-de-chambre_ of the king; others imagine he wished to hit
the Marquis de Lassay, who had the reputation of being pander to the
Duke de Bourbon, the former pupil of our author.
[622] In La Bruyèreʼs time people wore long wigs but were closely
shaved.
[623] Tityrus is a shepherd, who, according to the first line uttered
by Melibœus in Virgilʼs first “Eclogue,” is one of those men who
“lay at ease under their patrimonial beech trees.”
[624] This is an allusion to the Siamese ambassadors, who came to Paris
in 1686, and produced a great sensation.
[625] The original has _agreste_, taken with the meaning it sometimes
has in Latin. La Bruyère says in a note: “This word is used here
metaphorically.”
[626] Our author was probably for a month either at Rouen or Caen
as _trésorier-général des finances_, an office which he bought in
1673, and, whilst there, might have had a quarrel with some of his
colleagues. This is the more likely as in the first three editions of
the “Characters” the magistrates alone were named.
[627] A game played with four cards, formerly in use; it was _primero_
when the hands were shown, and the four cards were of different
colours; _grand primero_ when more than thirty points were made. In
Shakespeareʼs _King Henry VIII._ (act v. scene 1), Gardiner tells
Sir Thomas Lovell that he left the king “at primero with the Duke of
Suffolk.”
[628] This is supposed to have been a portrait of M. de Noailles, who
was Bishop of Châlons when La Bruyère wrote this paragraph, but who in
1695 became Archbishop of Paris and a Cardinal. The number of bishops
residing in their dioceses was very small at the end of the seventeenth
century.
[629] An allusion to some members of the clergy and legal profession
who frequented fashionable society.
[630] According to the Abbé de Chaulieu, Arténice is Catherine Turgot,
the wife of Gilles dʼAligres, Seigneur de Boislandry, who, after a
scandalous lawsuit, separated from her one year before this “Fragment”
appeared (1694). She was then only twenty-one, and became, it is said,
the mistress of de Chaulieu; afterwards she married again a certain M.
de Chevilly, a captain of the royal guards. Her friend, Mademoiselle de
la Force, is supposed to have been Elvira.
[631] An allusion to the President de Harlay. See page 237, note 1.
[632] This paragraph and the preceding one seem to refer to Pellisson.
See page 333, note 2.
[633] A grain is the 576th part of an ounce, which is the 16th part of
a pound.
[634] The original has _honnête homme_ (see page 43, note 2) for
“gentleman,” _homme de bien_ for “honest man” (see page 49, note 4),
and _habile homme_ for “clever man.”
[635] For “ombre” see page 172, note 5.
[636] A portrait of La Fontaine (see page 335, § 19), who was still
alive when this paragraph appeared (1691).
[637] This is a sketch of Pierre Corneille (see page 9, note 1,
and page 18, note 1), and _Augustus_, _Pompey_, _Nicomedes_, and
_Heraclius_ are the names of some of his tragedies.
[638] Theodas is Santeul (1630-1697), one of the most elegant of the
modern Latin poets, whose character, immediately recognised by all his
contemporaries, seems to have been the compound of folly and sense La
Bruyère made it out to be; he is said to have died in consequence of
having drunk a glass of wine and snuff given to him by the Duke de
Bourbon, the father of our authorʼs pupil.
[639] These two men are said to have been the brothers Le Peletier. See
page 54, note 1.
[640] Bachelors in theology and the canon law were the only graduates
compelled to study the history of the first four centuries of the
Christian era.
[641] Aristotle.
[642] Cicero.
[643] La Bruyère did not wish to give a sketch of Socrates, as he
himself admitted in one of his letters to Ménage. It is supposed he
meant to give a portrait of himself; at least he was sometimes called
“an intelligent madman.”
[644] A gambler was in La Bruyèreʼs time a regular profession, perhaps
not considered quite as respectable as any other of the learned
professions, but still decent enough to entitle its professors to be
received at court and in very good society. The gambler was almost as
much admired for his pluck and dash as a gentleman-jockey is at present.
[645] It was generally believed that this paragraph refers to the
minister Le Tellier (1603-1685) and to his son Louvois, for whom see
pages 132 and 242, notes 1 and 2.
[646] Cato of Utica (95-46 B.C.). Lucius Calpurnius Piso, the
father-in-law of Julius Cæsar, had been accused by Cicero in the year
59 B.C. of extortions, and of plundering Macedonia.
[647] See also the chapter “Of Mankind,” pages 308 and 321, §§ 104 and
139.
[648] Our author had already praised people of a certain age in his
chapter “Of the Court,” page 211, § 74.
[649] An allusion to Pierre-Louis de Reich, Seigneur de Penautier,
receiver-general of the clergy of France, who had been accused of
having poisoned his father-in-law.
[650] The Archbishop of Lyons bore the title of _primat des Gaules_,
which is in the original French.
[651] See page 192, note.
[652] Pierre du Terrail, Seigneur de Bayard (1475-1524), a great
military commander, deservedly received the name of the “knight without
fear and without reproach.” Our author states in a footnote that the
Marquis de Montrevel was commissioner-general of the cavalry, and
lieutenant-general. Seven years after the death of La Bruyère, he
became Marshal of France. Saint-Simon calls him “a very brave but a
rather stupid, not over-honest and ignorant man,” who died of fright by
the upsetting of a salt-cellar.
[653] This theory was maintained by Descartes.
[654] Vauban (1633-1707), the great French military engineer, after
the retaking of Namur by William III. in 1695, four years after this
paragraph saw the light, was accused of having committed some errors in
the erection of the fortifications of that town, but he proved those
accusations to be unfounded.
[655] Antiphilus is Pope Innocent XI. (1676-1689), who held other
opinions as a cardinal than he did as a pope; he opposed the liberties
of the Gallican Church.
[656] The original has _savantasse_, a word always used with a bad
meaning.
[657] In French _praticien_. See page 153, note 3.
[658] See the chapter “Of Mankind,” page 299, § 76.
[659] An allusion to the siege of Namur, June 1692, which lasted one
month, during which many courtiers and magistrates went there out
of curiosity. Racine and Boileau were also present as the kingʼs
historians. The above paragraph appeared the same year the siege took
place.
[660] A French army of eighty thousand men under the Marshal de
Luxembourg (see page 195, note 2) prevented William III. from coming to
the relief of Namur.
[661] According to M. G. Servoisʼs preface to the _Lexique_ of La
Bruyère, _ravelin_, a synonym of _demi-lune_, and _fausse-braie_, a
counter breastwork, are antiquated in French. However, “ravelin” and
“demi-lune” are still found as English words in certain dictionaries.
[662] Montaigne was of the opinion of La Bruyère and in favour of
Cæsar; Pascal, in his _Pensées_, on the contrary, thought that Cæsar,
assassinated at the age of fifty-six, was too old for the conquest of
the world, and that it would have better suited the youthful Alexander.
See also page 49, § 31.
[663] This paragraph in praise of the Dauphin (1661-1711), written in
epigraphic style, was printed in capital letters, and published whilst
he was in command of the army of the Rhine (1688).
[664] La Bruyère says in a note: “This is an opinion opposed to a
well-known Latin maxim.” Erasmus, in his _Adagiorum Chiliades_, gives
the Latinised proverb, _Filii heroum noxæ_, “the sons of heroes
degenerate,” and our author alludes to this. As for the “divine
qualities,” see page 51, § 33.
[665] La Bruyèreʼs feeling about the happiness of being his own master
breaks out now and then. See also page 232, § 33.
[666] This paragraph, and almost all the following ones, refer to the
revolution (1688) which placed William III. on the throne of Great
Britain.
[667] An allusion to the abortive attempt of the French in Ireland to
aid in the re-establishment of James II. See also page 218, note 2.
[668] The first-mentioned enemy was Charles V., Duke of Lorraine, who
died in 1690; the second was William III., a rumour of whose death
spread in Paris the same year, and caused great rejoicings.
[669] _O Tempora! O Mores!_ is the opening of the first of Ciceroʼs
_Catilinaria_.
[670] Our author lets Heraclitus, the weeping philosopher, utter this
paragraph, whilst he puts the following into the mouth of Democritus,
the laughing, or better, the sneering philosopher of Abdera.
[671] According to the mythology, Lycaon, king of Arcadia, murdered his
guests and served them up at his table, in order to test the divine
knowledge of Jupiter, who changed him into a wolf. Ægistheus was the
son of Thyestes, and the murderer of Agamemnon.
[672] William III.
[673] The “they have less to fear from us,” &c., was also one of the
arguments used by France during the first revolution.
[674] This, of course, refers to the hospitality Louis XIV. granted to
James II.
[675] Leopold I. (see page 252, note 3), Emperor of Germany, broke
off a war in which he was engaged against the Ottomans, who had twice
invaded Hungary, and entered the League of Augsburg (1686) against
Louis XIV., because the latter had compelled him to accept the Treaty
of Nimeguen, in 1679. See page 253, note 2.
[676] An allusion to Pope Innocent XI. (see page 361, note 1), who was
too little of a friend of Louis XIV. to show much zeal on behalf of
James II.
[677] Musket-balls.
[678] Cannon-balls.
[679] Shells.
[680] Athos was a mountain in Roumelia which the sculptor Dinocrates
proposed to hew into a statue of Alexander. Our author refers to this;
Byron has also an allusion to it in the twelfth canto of his “Don Juan.”
[681] The enemies of William III. often alluded to the livid colour
of his countenance, and Boileau in his wretched _Ode sur la prise de
Namur_ also speaks of “Nassau blème.”
[682] The Prince of Orange ordered in 1672 the dykes in Holland to be
opened to delay the advance of the French army; hence the allusion to
“bogs.”
[683] William III. became the adopted son of the Dutch republic on
the death of his father in 1666, and on the proposal of John de Witt.
Frenchmen pretend he was far more dictatorial in Holland than in
England, and accuse him of having behaved ungratefully towards de Witt,
his so-called “nurse.”
[684] When William III. returned to the Hague (1690), several princes
who had joined the League of Augsburg came to compliment him; it was
even rumoured that the Elector of Bavaria had some time to wait before
he could obtain an audience.
[685] In the original _archonte_, archon, the chief magistrate in
ancient Athens.
[686] This seems to refer to the siege of Mons (1690), which William
III. did not venture to raise.
[687] The Emperor of Germany.
[688] The arms of the house of Austria proper.
[689] Theotimus stands for M. Sachot, who was vicar of Saint-Gervais
at the time La Bruyère wrote, and used to shrive all the fashionable
people, but gradually was supplanted by Bourdaloue, who also succeeded
him in his vicarage. The fashion of not bleeding during a fever still
exists, and rightly so.
[690] The “Keys” speak of a certain lawyer, Cambout or Cabout, who
belonged to the household of the Condés, and of a flute-player,
Descosteaux, both passionately fond of flowers, as the supposed
originals of the “lover of flowers.”
[691] This lover of fruit was the financier Rambouillet de la Sablière,
who had a large garden in the Faubourg Saint-Antoine. See also page
173, note 10.
[692] Four well-known antiquarians, the Duke dʼAumont, Vaillant, Le
Nostre, and Father Menestrier, the latter author of an _Histoire de
Louis le grand par les médailles_, have been supposed the originals of
Diognetes.
[693] Several collectors of prints of the time have been named by the
commentators as the original of Democedes.
[694] At the time La Bruyère wrote, the houses on the bridge called the
“Petit-Pont” and those in the “Rue Neuve-Notre-Dame” were covered with
hangings and adorned with common prints on the days when a procession
was passing.
[695] Jacques Callot (1593-1655), a celebrated Lorraine artist and
etcher.
[696] In the “Rue Vieille-du-Temple,” in Paris, there was, at the time
our author wrote, a mansion erected by M. Amelot de Bisseuil, which was
considered one of the curiosities of Paris.
[697] According to some “Keys,” this refers to the Hotel Lesdiguières;
according to others, to the hotel of M. de Langlée. See page 188, note
2.
[698] In the original, _il donne pension à un homme_, antiquated in
this sense.
[699] The author states: “These are names of various shells.” The
original has “le Léopard, la Plume, la Musique,” and the English names
have been kindly suggested by M. Hugh Owen in “Notes and Queries” as
equivalents for the French ones.
[700] A few years before La Bruyère wrote, there was quite a mania for
butterflies at court, and in Paris.
[701] An allusion to the ordeal by duel, of which one of the last was
fought between Jarnac and La Chateigneraye, in 1542, before Henri II.
and his court. A treacherous thrust of the first-named nobleman has
given rise to the proverbial saying _un coup de Jarnac_.
[702] Louis XIV. was strongly opposed to duelling, and several legal
prohibitions of it were promulgated during his reign.
[703] Sophonius Tigellinus, a favourite and accomplice of the Roman
emperor Nero, was put to death about the year 70.
[704] In the original, _souffler_ and _jeter en sable_, “to gulp down;”
only the last word is found in the dictionary of the French Academy
of 1694. The old English translators of La Bruyère have been greatly
puzzled by the sentence beginning with the word “a Tigellinus,” and
give it: “a juggler, one who turns _aqua-vita_ black, and performs
other feats of legerdemain (other surprising things),” whilst the
translation of 1767 speaks of “a fiddler, who, besides several odd
performances on his instrument, gulps down,” &c.
[705] See the chapter “Of the Gifts of Fortune,” §§ 71-75.
[706] In the original _la crapule_, now no longer used for
“intoxication.”
[707] C. Valerius Catullus (87-47 B.C.), the well-known Roman poet; is
supposed to allude to the Abbé de Chaulieu (see page 342, note). The
latterʼs disciple was the Chevalier de Bouillon.
[708] See page 173, note 1.
[709] During the summer of 1689 the fashionable ladies at court adorned
themselves with bouquets of cornflowers.
[710] For Voiture see page 20, § 37, and note 3. Sarrazin (1603-1654)
was a rival of Voiture in an affected and pretentious style.
[711] The original has _gens dʼesprit_. See page 20, note 1.
[712] Those of my readers who wish to see the various fashions in dress
of the end of the seventeenth century should look at the etchings
at the head of each chapter, which faithfully represent them at the
time La Bruyère wrote; the high head-dresses had been abandoned when
he penned this paragraph (1691), but they became again the rage the
following year (see Chapter iv., “Of Women,” § 5), and continued so for
a considerable period.
[713] In the original _il parle gras_; _parler gras_ means usually “to
speak thick,” but is sometimes said, as it is here, of people who lisp,
which generally in French is _grasseyer_.
[714] In the original _indécence_, “crudeness,” “want of harmony,” now
antiquated with this meaning.
[715] Attila, king of the Huns, died 453.
[716] The “long black veil,” coming down to the feet, worn by ladies in
mourning, and during some grand ceremonies, was called a _mante_. Our
author adds in a note: “Oriental habits.” The tiara, or triple crown,
was the head-dress of the ancient Persian potentates, of the Jewish
high priest, and of the Pope. For the _sagum_, see page 259, note 1.
[717] The author says in a note: “Offensive and defensive.”
[718] Canions, or _canons_ in French, were large round pieces of linen,
often adorned with lace or bunches of ribbons, which were fastened
below the breeches, just under the knee.
[719] _Libertin_ in the original. See page 161, note.
[720] It was two years after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes
(1685) that La Bruyère made these remarks about “pretended piety,” for
since the influence of Madame de Maintenon over Louis XIV., all the
courtiers were turning pious. See also page 207, note 3.
[721] Our author is careful to add in a note, “assumed piety.”
[722] _Connaître le flanc_ is used by La Bruyère. Some of the
commentators think this is a military term used purposely by our author.
[723] None of La Bruyèreʼs commentators have observed that the “unknown
jargon” seems to refer to the mystic quietism taught by Jeanne-Marie
Bouvier de la Motte-Guyon (1648-1717), who was at the height of her
reputation when this paragraph was published for the first time in the
eighth edition of the “Characters” in 1694. To our author has also been
attributed “Dialogues sur le Quiétisme.”
[724] La Bruyère is always very careful when he uses the word “devout”
or “pious,” in a bad sense, to add in a note, “assumed” or “false
piety.” See also § 22.
[725] See page 43, note 2.
[726] This “devout courtier” was Paul de Beauvillier, Dulce de
Saint-Aignan, peer of France, _gouverneur des enfants de France_. See
also page 197, note 2.
[727] Sainte-Beuve, in his _Histoire de Port Royal_, justly observes
that La Bruyère showed more courage in writing the character of
Onuphrius than Molière displayed in bringing out his _Tartuffe_, for
the latter comedy made its appearance in 1667, and Onuphrius in 1691,
five years after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, when Louis XIV.
was already under the influence of Madame de Maintenon, and had become
devout.
[728] An allusion to the first words said by Tartuffe (act iii. scene
2) in Molièreʼs play of that name: “Laurent, serrez ma haire avec ma
discipline.”
[729] The “Spiritual Fight,” a religious work attributed to an Italian
Theatine monk, Scupoli, had been already translated into French in
1608; the “Inward Christian,” by Louvigny, was published in 1661,
whilst there were two “Holy Years,” one written by Bordier in 1668, and
a second published ten years later by a certain clergyman, Loisel.
[730] In the original, _il pousse des élans et des soupirs_, a
reminiscence of Molièreʼs _Tartuffe_ (act i. scene 5), where Orgon, in
speaking of the hypocrite, says: