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404 FRANCE (LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE) (1207), remarkable for its soldier-like sim- plicity and straightforwardness, and the Me- moires in which Joinville tells of the heroic deeds and private virtues of the good king Louis IX. The whole literature of the 14th century culminates in Froissart's "Chroni- cles," which remain the model of this kind of writing, and present the liveliest pictures of society and manners during that period of war and gallant emprise. Christine de Pisan and Alain Chartier deserve notice for their intelli- gent efforts toward the improvement of prose. This improvement is fully illustrated in the 15th century by the Memoires of Comines, which present a striking delineation of the characters of Louis XI. and his contempora- ries. Already a popular poet, Villon, had given evidence in his poems that French verse was able to reach a high sphere of excellence ; and Duke Charles of Orleans that it had lost nothing of its gracefulness. The revival of classical learning and the religious reformation exercised a powerful influence on French lite- rature in the 16th century. Its principal char- acteristics being freedom of thought and vari- ety of style, writers cannot be judged accord- ing to a single standard. In originality Rabe- lais and Montaigne are entitled to the first rank. The former, whom Lord Bacon styled "the great jester of France," was a profound scholar, physician, and philosopher, and con- tented himself with the renown of a pro- fane humorist. His nondescript romance, the "History of Gargantua and Pantagruel," is filled with strange tales, wild notions, amu- sing quibbles, and gross buffooneries, inter- spersed with a seasoning of good sense, sound philosophy, and raillery. A writer of more refinement and keener wit was Montaigne, whose " Essays," one of the standards of French literature, are a series of free and fa- miliar disquisitions upon every subject, couched in the most easy and winning style, but skepti- cal and cynical throughout. His views were partly reduced to a system by his friend and disciple Charron, in his treatises De la sa- gesse and Des trois verites. Meanwhile the reformation had been vindicated by Calvin in his Institution de la religion chretienne, a masterly piece of writing, which afforded convincing evidence that French prose had now acquired strength and gravity enough to become a fit vehicle of religious eloquence ; and, later in the century, an admirable pam- phlet, the Satire Menippee, and some speeches of the chancellor L'Hopital, proved it to be flexible enough for political purposes. Its ca- pacity for lighter subjects had been previously demonstrated by the tales of Margaret of Na- varre. Amyot invested it with new graces by happily blending Grecian and French beauties in his translation of Plutarch's " Lives." In poetry this period was less successful. Cle- ment Marot (1495-1544) had indeed exhibited elegance, grace, and wit, in his epistles, epi- grams, and elegies ; but he had merely given perfection to inferior branches of poetry. Ron sard attempted a higher flight ; he tried to in- vest French verse with that power, variety, and inspiration which he so much admired in Greek metres; but his violent introduction of foreign forms and elements into the vernacular was far from attaining the fortunate results he anticipated ; in spite of all his defects, how- ever, he contributed to elevate the tone of French poetry. In the 17th century, Malherbe appeared as the reformer, or rather the regu- lator, of poetry; a man of fastidious taste and meagre imagination, he ridiculed the artistic luxuriance of Ronsard, and introduced a style of grammatical correctness and dry elegance which sometimes reached pomposity, but was destructive of feeling and enthusiasm. His polishing process was nevertheless of great ser- vice to poetical language ; and his odes, stanzas, and other pieces present many beautiful lines, which are frequently quoted. Mathurin Re- gnier (1573-1613) was the earliest of the French satiric poets, and his verses are full of vigor. Balzac devoted his attention to the improve- ment of prose; and his semi-philosophical works, his epistles especially, were valuable at the time as models of careful and harmonious rhetoric. Such were also, notwithstanding their manner- ism, the frivolous but witty letters of his friend Voiture. Both were great favorites at the ho- tel Rambouillet, the headquarters of a society of wits and fashionable ladies, who acted as arbiters of good taste and elegance, Many so- cial reunions were now in reality literary clubs, which gave particular attention to philological propriety ; one of these, receiving from Car- dinal Richelieu the title of the French acade- my, was especially appointed " to establish certain rules for the French language, and make it not only elegant but capable of treat- ing all matters of art and science." Leav- ing mere disquisitions about words to such so- cieties, three great men now enriched French literature with works in which style was only a medium for conveying original conceptions or powerful thoughts. Pierre Corneille brought tragedy to a degree of grandeur which has not. been surpassed on the French stage ; Le Cid, Horace, Cinna, and Polyeucte are still the objects of admiration ; while Pom- pee, Rodogune, Heraclius, Don Sanche, and Nicomede, though less perfect, abound with striking beauties. Descartes, in his Discours sur la methode, showed that the French ver- nacular was now equal to the highest philo- sophical subjects ; and Pascal, in his Lettres provinciales, in which comic pleasantry and vehement eloquence are happily blended, first framed a standard of French prose. Such was the opening of the splendid literary epoch which is generally styled the age of Louis XIV. ; and following it came a galaxy of supe- rior minds, who, under the royal patronage, applied themselves to perfecting every branch of literature. Sacred eloquence was success- fully cultivated, and the pulpit was adorned by