ity, Vauvenargues underwent increas- his incapacity for serving in the army ing physical hardships. He apologized when the Imperial troops attacked to a friend for using a wafer instead of France and desolated his native Prosealing-wax on the ground that he vence. He wrote offering to serve could not afford to buy wax. His few again, and he hoped, in an interval of acquaintances were impressed with the pain and weakness, that the offer would spectacle, but it does not appear that not be made in vain; but he had the they did anything to relieve his suffer- cruel mortification to find that his ings. Marmontel has recorded that no power was inferior to his desire. He man in the world had more attractions continued to write so long as he could for him than the good, the virtuous, hold a pen, and one of the last passages and the wise Vauvenargues — which he produced has the special interest of a personal confession. Depicting Clazoméne, he limned his own portrait: Nature had treated him hardly as regarded his body, but his mind was one of her rarest masterpieces. I looked upon him as a sick and suffering Fénelon. He was very cordial to me, and I easily obtained permission to visit him. I could have made a fine book out of his conversation if I had noted it down. Clazoméne has experienced all mortal miseries. He has been affected with maladies from infancy, and deprived in life's springtime of all the pleasures of youth. Born to bear secret sorrows, he was proud and ambitious in his poverty; when in disgrace, he was misunderstood by those whom he loved; his courage was weakened by outrages, and he was insulted by those upon whom he could not revenge himself. The hardness of his lot was not lessened by his talents, his assiduous application, his endeavor to act rightly, his attachment The writer whose pen had charmed Voltaire, whose contributions to the literature of his country were destined to be numbered among its treasures, spent the last months of his life in a state of extreme want. If he did not die by his own hand, like Chatterton, to friends. Even his wisdom could not he had as great an excuse as he had for hinder him from committing irreparable ending his days. They were cut short faults; he suffered undeserved pain, which by consumption, which set in when the his imprudence had occasioned. When wounds in his frost-bitten limbs re- fate seemed tired of pursuing him, when opened. He could not afford anything laggard hope began to assuage his suffering, more than the simplest fare at a time death appeared and surprised him when his when his failing appetite required to be affairs were in the utmost disorder, and he pampered, nor could he enjoy the com- has had the bitter sorrow of not leaving fort of a well-lit and well-warmed room enough to pay his debts and of being unwhen his eyesight grew dimmer and able to preserve his virtue from such a stain. Should a reason be sought for so his frame more sensitive to cold. In cruel a destiny, I think that it cannot easily these heart-rending circumstances he be found. Must a reason be found why still preserved his serenity. "I have clever gamesters are ruined at play while seen the most unfortunate and the others make their fortune, why there are most composed of men," was the re- years without either spring or autumn, or mark which Voltaire made of him un- why the fruits of the season wither in the der the conditions which have been bud? Let it not be supposed, however, described, while Marmontel's testi- that Clazoméne would exchange his wretchmony is even more precise: "An un-edness for the prosperity of weak men; for, utterable serenity veiled his sufferings from the eyes of friendship.... While his body was falling into decay, his mind retained the perfect tranquillity of a pure spirit. One learned from him how to live and how to die." though fortune can make a sport of the wisdom of brave men, yet it cannot succeed in bending their determination. The cruel sufferings of Vauvenargues ended on the 28th of May, 1747. He died without tasting the glory for which He bitterly regretted, at the mo- he longed. The work which has imment of his greatest physical weakness, |mortalized his name long continued the favorite of a chosen few. He de- Among the various subjects treated scended into the grave without exciting regret among the public. Yet the life which appeared fruitless had a compensation which few of his contemporaries foresaw. His fame arose from the dust in which his body lay. Many of his compeers have shown since his death how much better they could estimate and honor merit than the majority of his contemporaries. New editions of his book appeared; many of his maxims passed into current coin of speech. The French Academy conferred the highest honor in its gift upon M. Gilbert when he set forth in adequate terms what Vauvenargues had suffered and accomplished. All that Vauvenargues thought fit to publish was contained in a volume of moderate size. The manuscripts which he left behind him did not fill another of equal size. Happily for his fame he wrote comparatively little, and his memory would have been cherished all the more cordially if what he suppressed had not been reproduced, and if that which he prepared for publication had alone been given to the world. In a preliminary discourse to his book he indicates his views and his purpose. Having postulated that "the duties of men brought together in society constitute morality; the reciprocal interests of these societies constitute politics; their obligations towards God constitute religion," he proceeds to say: Filled with these grand views, I proposed to myself, in the first instance, to survey all the qualities of the mind, next all the passions, and lastly all the virtues and the vices which, not being human qualities, could be understood in their origins only. I turned this plan over in my mind and I laid the foundations of a long task. This study was cut short by the passions which are incidental to youth, by constant illness, and by the advent of war. This is his apology for having accomplished so little, to which he adds the assurance that he had done his utmost in the second edition to rectify the shortcomings of the first. by him, the "Reflections and Maxims " gave the most pleasure to the readers who were also his friends, and they are best known to readers now. It is principally on this account that Vauvenargues is little known out of France, where the writer of maxims enjoys a popularity which he cannot hope to attain in another land. The French tongue lends itself to maxim-making, as the French mind adapts itself to enjoying scraps of wisdom a line long. An ordinary Englishman regards a book of maxims much in the same light as a dinner composed of made dishes. He openly avows his preference for solid joints over kickshaws, and he wearies of reading a series of detached, sparkling maxims because he finds that they excite without satisfying his appetite. It must be added that French maxims rendered into English are as unlike the originals as French-made dishes, prepared by a good, plain English cook, are unlike the dainty products of a cordon bleu. The ingredients may be the same in both cases; but the touch of the master is wanting. La Rochefoucauld is often mentioned by English writers, yet the majority of them seem to think that he never wrote anything except the cynical phrase to the effect that there is something not displeasing in the misfortunes of one's friends. It is true that this moralist gave prominence to the darker side of human nature, and appeared to delight in the process, and it is undeniable that his cynicism, like that. of Swift, has helped to keep his memory green. The majority of men have a tendency to regard the human species as vile, and those who most emphatically affirm that every one is deplorably and uniformly wicked do so with the mental reservation that they are exceptions. Now Vauvenargues did not agree with La Rochefoucauld either in his opinions or in his manner of giving expression to them, and in this respect he is original as well as lovable. He preferred to seek for and give form to the soul of goodness in things evil, which Shakespeare maintained to be the reward of the careful explorer of human nature. He was optimistic in his view of human life and the human race, and if it be a failing to fix one's gaze and hope upon the brighter and better side of existence, it is one which is pardonable. I give here a few extracts from his writings which are most striking and characteristic. The copy of Vauvenargues' work which belonged to Voltaire has been preserved, and the frequent annotations on the margin betoken with what attention it had been perused, as well as exhibit the opinions which the illustrious reader formed and expressed. Writing in the 16th section of the "Introduction to the Knowledge of the Human Mind," Vauvenargues says: "Genius merely expresses the relation of certain qualities;" his commentator adds: "Genius is the aptitude to excel in an art.” The 27th section, which is marked "Excellent," is on the "Love of Glory," and as it is not long, the whole may be given: Glory exercises a natural authority over our hearts; it affects us more than any other of our sensations, and causes us to forget our miseries more than vain dissipation; hence it is real in every sense. Those who speak of its inevitable nothingness would bear with difficulty the scorn of any man. The vacancy due to the absence of grand passions is filled by many minor ones, and the contemners of glory plume themselves upon dancing well or something even more contemptible. They are so blind as not to perceive that it is glory which they seek so strangely, and they are so vain that they dare to place it in the most frivolous things. They say that glory is neither virtue nor merit, and their reasoning is just, as it is but the reward of either; yet it incites us to labor and be virtuous, and often renders us estimable in order that we may be esteemed. Virtue, glory, life are all very abject in men; but the smallest things have their recognized proportions. An oak is a great tree alongside a cherry-tree; so it is with men compared to each other. What are the virtues and inclinations of those who despise glory? Have they merited it? A sentence marked "Very good," in the section on "The Love of Science and Letters," deserves the praise given to it by Voltaire : "Most men honor letters as they do religion and virtue, that is to say, as a thing which they cannot know, practise, or love." Love is a subject about which the French are fond of speaking and writing, and it has an interest for others also. Vauvenargues dealt with it in a manner which is not conventional, and he made remarks concerning it which are not commonplace. The paragraphs which he devoted to it are without annotations from Voltaire; but they were corrected by him. As he refrained from adverse criticism, he may be held to have given a negative approval, and the paragraphs may be read with the greater interest on that account: In general there is much sympathy in love, that means an inclination of which the senses form the knot; yet, though they form the knot, they are not always the chief element, as it is not impossible for love to be devoid of grossness. The same passions may affect men differently; the same object may attract them from opposite sides. Should several men be attached to the same woman, some of them may love her for her cleverness, others for her virtue, others for her failings, etc., and it is possible that they may all be in love with her for certain things in which she is deficient, as a volatile woman may be loved under the impression that she is sedate. This is immaterial, because we cling to the idea which commends itself to us, and it is the idea which we love and not the volatile woman. Thus it is the object of our passions neither degrades nor ennobles them, but the manner in which we regard it. Now, I have stated that we may seek for something purer in love than the satisfaction of our senses. The reason why I think so is that I daily see in society a man thrown among women to whom he has never spoken, as, for instance, at divine service, fix his desires on one of them who is neither the most beautiful, nor appears so to him. What is the reason of this? It is because each kind of beauty expresses a particular character, and we prefer that which tallies with our own. Therefore it is the character which often decides our choice; that which we seek is the soul, and this cannot be gainsaid. Hence, whatever is exhibited to our senses pleases us because it images what is concealed; thus we love what is visible only as the organs of our pleasure, and as subordinate to the unseen qualities of which they are the expression, and hence it is at least true that what most affects us is the soul. Now, the soul is not pleasing to the senses but to the mind; the interest of the mind becomes supreme, and should that of the senses be in opposition it must be sacrificed. It is but necessary, then, to persuade us that it is really opposed, that it is a blot upon the mind, and such is pure love. True love, however, must not be confounded with friendship, because the mind is the organ of sentiment in friendship, whereas in love the senses play that part. And, as the ideas which issue from the senses are infinitely more powerful than views which are the result of reflection, what they inspire is passion. Friendship does not extend so far. Many speakers and writers have had to repel the charge of inconsistency, or to justify themselves. Charles James Fox insisted that his inconsistency was equivalent to an admission that he had grown wiser through experience. When Vauvenargues was accused of this failing, he would reply: "If I am told that I contradict myself, I answer that I do not admit I am always in the wrong because I have been so once or several times." The concluding sentences of the section on "Greatness of Mind" are very good: "Those who desire that men should be all good or bad, tall or short, do not understand nature. Everything in men is mixed; everything is limited, and even vice has its boundary.” When Vauvenargues writes that "nobility is an inheritance like gold and diamonds," Voltaire stamps the phrase as "Good and new." In "Reflections on Various Subjects," Vauvenargues has a section on the "Necessity for Making Mistakes," of which the opening sentences are styled "fine : One should not be timid through fear of committing blunders; the greatest blunder of all is not to acquire experience. We may be quite certain that weak persons only are morbidly afraid of tripping and showing their defects; they avoid occasions when they might stumble and be humiliated; they creep timidly along, never leaving anything to chance, and die with all the weaknesses which they have been unable to hide. An ingenious section which is devoted to "The Incompetence of Readers" I shall not translate in full, as it is too long. The gist of it is that readers are to be blamed if authors provide them with inferior books, that original works are neither readily welcomed nor understood, "the bad taste of readers and their relish for trifles leading to the multiplication of vapid works and literary rubbish." Gray was of opinion that the man who wrote down whatever came before him could not help producing an interesting volume. Vauvenargues put this thought in another way: "A man possessing some common sense who should enter in his note-book all the false hoods and absurdities which he heard during the day, would never go to bed without having filled it." Three of the pieces in which typical characters are described give a very good idea both of the observation and the acuteness of Vauvenargues. He depicts the great without flattery, and he does so as one of themselves, but with keener eyes than his fellows. A few sentences will serve to show the manner in which he performs his task : The great scarcely remark the miseries, the manners, the talents, the virtues, and the vices of other men, being too much occupied with themselves. They do not even perceive what is before their eyes; they do not extend their gaze beyond their their flatterers, and their servants. families, people in office, their hangers-on, human race is comprised for them within the narrow circle of their dependants or of those who pay them court, the remainder escaping their notice and not exciting their esteem, their compassion, or their curiosity. The Those who belong to the bourgeoisie are as little to his taste as those of his own class: The nobles are self-conceited, the people motion; hence the intercommunication and alliance of all beings, the unity and harmony of the universe. Yet we consider this fruitful law of Nature a vice in man, and because he is forced to obey it, not being able to live in idleness, we conclude that he is out of his element. (Very fine.) There is no advantage in having a lively mind if it be not accurate; the perfect clock does not go fast, but correctly. are coarse and the bourgeoisie borrows from | 198. Fire, air, spirit, and light all exist by both. Notwithstanding what I have said about those in society, I am far from preferring the middle class to them; I prefer an artless impudence and a boundless frivolity to a clumsy and impertinent imitation of these two vices. When I enter a middle-class house I find there a more extreme vanity and more affected folly, a more profound ignorance and a more tire- 204. some conversation than in that of a noble ; the women there are either affected or silly, either gossips or fools; the men are ill-bred, great talkers, heavy, and imitators. His sympathies are for the lower class, or those who have come down in the world, and he expresses his pity for them without seeing his way to raise them to a higher level and induce them to lead a worthier life. 264. 277. I have said already that Vauvenargues is best known by the maxims, of which 289. he wrote nine hundred and forty-five. 347. He suppressed two hundred and fortyfive at the suggestion of Voltaire. In making a selection out of the mass, I 400. shall endeavor to give specimens which may fairly represent it. The figure placed before each is its number in the 405. original. The word at the end of some is Voltaire's. 5. Obscurity is the kingdom of error. 12. A distinctive mark of mediocrity is to be always lukewarm in praise. (Good.) 22. Servitude degrades men till they love it. (Good.) 25. Before attacking an abuse, see whether its foundations cannot be undermined. 26. Inevitable abuses are laws of Nature. (Good.) It is easy enough to criticise an author; the difficulty lies in appreciating him. A liar is a man who does not under stand how to deceive; a flatterer is one who usually deceives fools; while he who knows how to turn truth to good account and is aware of its eloquence, is alone entitled to plume himself on his cleverness. (Fine.) There are no contradictions in Nature. It is worthy of note that, while nearly all the poets have employed Racine's expressions, Racine has never repeated himself. A very new and original work would be one which should inspire love for old truths. Politics is the grandest of all the sciences. 409. It is often more difficult to rule a single man than a great people. 411. If the secret were discovered of ending war, multiplying the human race, and insuring subsistence to all men, how barbarous and stupid would our best laws appear! 431. Interest is the measure of prudence. There are men who live happily without knowing it. All men are born sincere and die deceivers. Self-interest is the soul of men of the world. 521. 528. We rarely speak and write as we think. Those who always calumniate do little harm; they intend more mischief than they can achieve. We despise the myths of our country; we teach our children those of antiquity. 827. Pity is less tender than love. Vauvenargues was a lukewarm member of the Roman Catholic Church, to which he belonged by birth, and from which he never severed himself. He was far removed, however, from those 650. |