written, as the lyrics by Manzoni and the
satires by Giusti. Among the best books
produced since Italy became a united
nation are Military Life and other works
of E. de Amicis and the Autobiography of
Dupré the sculptor. See Sismondi's
Literature of the South of Europe.
French Literature
The earliest writings of France were the love-songs of the troubadours and the verses of the trouvères on the deeds of kings and knights. Of the many early chronicles the best is Froissart's, which is still read; while the Memoirs of Comines, who lived in the reign of Louis XI, are both valuable and well-written.
The revival of classical learning in the 16th century, which stirred literature with such power in England, had a like effect in France. It produced Rabelais, “the jester of France,” and Montaigne, one of the greatest of essay-writers, the perfect style of whose essays has made them classics. Calvin, also, in his Institutes of the Christian Religion, made French prose speak with an eloquence it had never before known. The tales of Margaret of Navarre have always been popular. Clement Marot's verses were more witty than poetic, but Mathurin Régnier (1573-1613) wrote strong satirical poems.
The age of Louis XIV is a noted one in French literature, and ranks among the foremost in the world's literature. At this time Pierre Corneille, the greatest French tragedian, wrote his masterpieces, The Cid, Horace, Cinna and Polyeucte. Second only to him, Racine wrote his Andromaque, Iphigénie and Phèdre, based on Greek stories, and Athalie, taken from an incident in Hebrew history. Corneille tried comedy in The Liar, but was far outshone in this department by Molière, whose Tartuffe, The Misanthrope, The School of the Women and other plays, are as familiar to the world as those of Shakespeare. The four most famous French preachers also lived at this time — Bossuet, Bourdaloue, Massillon and Fénelon. Lafontaine wrote fables as no one has written them since. Boileau, the leading poet of the time, was greater in his influence upon the work of other poets than because of anything he himself wrote. Descartes' Discourse on Method, Malebranche's Investigation of Truth and Pascal's Thoughts were important philosophical books of the period, while the last is a most precious work to Christians of all nations. The wits of the age, who are famous still, were La Rochefoucauld and La Bruyère. Cardinal de Retz in his Memoirs of the war of the Fronde and Hamilton in his Memoirs of the Count of Grammont produced valuable historical works. Fénelon's Télémaque became immensely popular, as it was thought to censure Louis XIV. French life under that monarch is best set forth in the Letters of Madame de Sévigné to her daughter and friends.
The 18th century was an age of philosophy and bold thought. Montesquieu, whose Persian Letters were a satire on everything French, as it then was, and whose best book was The Spirit of Laws, had great influence in stirring and emboldening French thought. But it would be impossible to exaggerate Voltaire's influence on the growth of thought which ended in the French Revolution. His tragedies, as Mérope or Mahomet rank next to those of Corneille and Racine, while his miscellaneous poems are unsurpassed. His views on philosophy are set forth in his Philosophical Dictionary, and his Age of Louis XIV is still worth reading. Rousseau's influence was almost as great. His Contrat Social, which was read both by learned and ignorant throughout the country, was a direct attack on the throne. Diderot's and D'Alembert's Encyclopédie also was influential, embodying the boldest views as to society, government and religion. Buffon's Natural History, though no longer of scientific authority, is one of the French classics. Two other classics are St. Pierre's Paul and Virginia and Prévost's Manon Lescaut. The leading novel of the day was Le Sage's Gil Blas. Beaumarchais' Barber of Seville is popular still.
In the 19th century first arose what was called the romantic school, the best plays of which were written by Hugo, Dumas and Alfed de Vigny. De Vigny also wrote a good novel, Cinq-Mars, but the greatest in this department was Hugo, whose masterpiece is Les Misérables. The most popular was Dumas, whose Count of Monte Cristo and Three Guardsmen are only two among the best of his many good stories. Dumas is noted also for his style. Much less read now than formerly are two other authors of this school, Eugène Sue and George Sand. The greatest French novelist, Honoré de Balzac, belongs to what is known as the realistic school of writers. In power, no story that has been written surpasses Father Goriot or Cousin Bette, unless it be Adam Bede. Of younger writers of the same school, the foremost perhaps, are Gautier and Guy de Maupassant; while as a writer of detective stories Émile Gaboriau's File No. 113 is unequaled even by Edgar Poe's Marie Roget. The chief French poet of the century was Alfred de Musset, though Hugo was even greater in his Odes and Ballads than as a novelist or playwright; while Béranger was one of the greatest French song-writers, and Lamartine also ranked high as a poet.
The most important work of the 19th century was done in history; the leading names are Guizot, Thierry, Sismondi, Michelet, Martin, Capefigue, Thiers, Mignet,
