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 Pierre Le Tourneur 
 
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Columbia ^niiitxsit^ 
 
 STUDIES IN- ROMANCE PHILOLOGT 
 AND LITERATURE 
 
 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 BIT 
 
 MARY GERTRUDE GUSHING 
 
 Submitted in Partial Fulfilment or the Reqdikb- 
 
 MENTS FOR THE DeGREE OP DoCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 
 
 IN THE Faculty op Philosophy, Columbia 
 University 
 
 NEW YORK 
 1908 
 
COPTEIOHT, 1908, 
 
 Bt the COLUMBIA UNIVEESITT PEESB. 
 Set up and electrotyped. Published September, 1908. 
 
 J. S. Cashing Co. — Berwick & Smith Co. 
 Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. 
 
TO MY PARENTS 
 
NOTE 
 
 The following dissertation was examined by 
 the Department of Romance Languages and 
 Literatures of Columbia University, and con- 
 sidered a valuable contribution to literary 
 history, deserving to be accepted in partial 
 fulfilment of the requirement for the Degree 
 
 of Doctor of Philosophy. 
 
 ADOLPHE COHN. 
 
 Columbia TJniveesitt, 
 September, 1908. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 This volume aims to present a clear and 
 connected account of a little-known and almost 
 forgotten figure in French literature. The 
 beginnings of the Romantic Movement in 
 France in the latter part of the eighteenth 
 century were aided and accelerated by the 
 influence of English literature, and especially 
 by the work of Young, Ossian, and Shake- 
 speare. To Pierre Le Tourneur belongs the 
 honor of having produced the first complete 
 translations of these three poets, and of having 
 made them known to his countrymen. A study 
 of his life and work is, then, of distinct interest 
 in the history of literary cosmopolitanism in 
 France. No detailed treatment of the subject 
 as a whole, such as the present essay attempts, 
 has before been made. Lacroix in his Influ- 
 ence de Shakespeare sur le Thidtre Frangais 
 (1856), Professor Lounsbury in Shakespeare 
 and Voltaire (1902), and M. Jusserand in 
 Shakespeare in France under the Old Regime 
 (1899), devote certain chapters to valuable 
 studies of the translation of Shakespeare. The 
 
X PREFACE 
 
 translation of Young is ably discussed by 
 M. Thomas in his monumental work on Ed- 
 ward Young (1895) and by M. Joseph Texte 
 in his Je.an Jacques Rousseau et le Cosmopoli- 
 tanisme dans la Litter ature Frangaise (1895). 
 M. Texte also gives an interesting and sug- 
 gestive survey of the translation of Ossian. 
 No one of these scholars, however, has under- 
 taken to give more than an incidental treatment 
 of individual works. No careful study of the 
 life and work of Le Tourneur, such as is pro- 
 posed in the present monograph, has hitherto 
 been attempted. 
 
 It is a pleasure to take this opportunity of 
 expressing my thanks for courtesies extended 
 to me by the officials of the Columbia Uni- 
 versity Library, and of the Bibliotheque Na- 
 tionale ; by M. FoUiot of the Library in 
 Vailognes, Normandy, and by M. Lemarquand, 
 President de la Societe Archeologique. To 
 Professor Adolphe Cohn, I am indebted for 
 the suggestion of my theme, for friendly criti- 
 cism and counsel, and for help in reading proof. 
 
 M. G. C. 
 
 Columbia Univbrsitt, 
 June, 1908. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 OHAPTEB PAOK 
 
 I. Le Tourneur, the Man .... 1 
 
 II. The Writer of Essays and Eulogies . 21 
 
 III. The Interpreter of the English School 
 
 OF Melancholy: Translations of 
 
 Young, Hervey, and Ossian . . 43 
 
 IV. Minor Translations : English, German, 
 
 Italian 103 
 
 V. The Translator of Shakespeare . . 154 
 
 VI. Conclusion 258 
 
 Appendices : 
 
 A. Chronological List of Le Tourneur's Works 263 
 
 B. Hervey and Montaigne .... 266 
 
 C. Le Comte de Catuelan 268 
 
 D. Examples of Eighteenth-century Criticism 
 
 of Le Tourneur's Translation of Shake- 
 speare 270 
 
 E. Bibliography of Editions .... 277 
 
 F. Bibliography 290 
 
 General Bibliography 298 
 
 Index 305 
 
 zi 
 
I. LE TOURNEUR, THE MAN 
 
 The study of the appreciation of Shakespeare 
 in France is a theme of peculiar interest when 
 viewed in relation to the development of Euro- 
 pean taste. In the history of no other nation is 
 there so striking a picture of the gradual enlarge- 
 ment of dramatic taste through the influence of 
 a single personality. The last quarter of the 
 eighteenth century presents the beginning of a 
 literary phase which is perhaps unique : a nation, 
 opposed by training and education to the genius 
 of Shakespeare, brought by the influence of 
 that genius to admire and esteem what it had 
 ignored as insignificant and despised as barba- 
 rian. The study of such a phase is suggestive, 
 both in attesting the universality of Shakespeare 
 and in throwing a clearer light upon the char- 
 acter and. development of French taste. 
 
 One of the most important factors in this 
 expansion of dramatic taste was the first com- 
 plete translation of Shakespeare, by Pierre Le 
 
2 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 Tourneur, the first volumes of whicli appeared 
 in 1776 and the last in 1783. This was not 
 only the first complete translation of the English 
 poet, but the first of any literary value, and the 
 one which served as the basis of all other 
 French translations down to the middle of the 
 nineteenth century. It was on the occasion of 
 this translation that Voltaire raised his famous 
 storm of criticism against Le Tourneur, and it 
 was around this that was waged one of the most 
 picturesque and one of the fiercest wars in the 
 history of literature. The partial translations 
 and analyses by La Place in 1745, the imita- 
 tions and adaptations by Ducis in his Hamlet, 
 1769, and in his Romeo et Juliet, in 1772, and 
 above all, Voltaire's brilliant criticism, begun 
 as early as 1734 in the Lettres PMlosopKiques, 
 had already made Shakespeare a familiar name 
 in France and aroused an interest in his work. 
 But as yet no complete or adequate translation 
 existed. It remained for Pierre Le Tourneur, 
 b}'^ his faithful and conscientious rendering, to 
 enable the French people to judge for them- 
 selves concerning the beauties and defects of 
 the great " barbarian " whom Voltaire seemed 
 both to admire and to despise. Le Tourneur's 
 
LE TOURNEUR, THE MAN 3 
 
 translation thus played a significant part in the 
 history of the appreciation of Shakespeare in 
 France. Its appearance marked an epoch in 
 that expansion of taste which was to culminate 
 later in the Romantic Movement, and on this 
 account alone, a study of the life and work of 
 its author is of interest to the student of lit- 
 erary cosmopolitanism. 
 
 But aside from his translation of Shakespeare, 
 Le Tourneur has other claims to the considera- 
 tion of posterity. His translations of Young and 
 Ossian introduced to France the poetry of the 
 English School of melancholy, and not only did 
 much to increase interest in English literature, 
 but exerted an appreciable influence on the 
 development of French taste. In addition to 
 his purely literary labors he held positions of 
 responsibility and dignity. He was Censeur 
 Royal et Secretaire gSneral de la Librairie, and 
 Secretaire ordinaire de Monsieur, brother of 
 Louis XVI. Furthermore, he was a man of 
 high character, of winning personality, and an 
 able and conscientious ' worker. By his con^" 
 temporaries he was regarded as a distinguished 
 man of letters and an eminent translator. He 
 won public esteem by three original Discoura 
 
4 PIEERE LB TOURNEUR 
 
 which were awarded prizes in 1766 and 1767 by 
 the Academies of Montauban and Besangon. 
 A little later, he made a brilliant reputation for 
 himself by his translations, or rather imitations, 
 of Young's Night Thoughts in 1769 and Hervey's 
 Meditations on the Tombs in 1770. At the time 
 he began the publication of his translation of 
 Shakespeare in 1776 he had already brought out 
 a French version of Johnson's Life of Savage 
 and one of Thomson and had collaborated in a 
 translation of Robertson's History of Charles V. 
 Shortly afterwards he produced a translation of 
 Ossian and somewhat later one of Clarissa 
 Harlowe. But he did not confine his attention 
 wholly to English literature. Besides various 
 other labors of minor importance he translated 
 some of Ariosto's minor poems and two German 
 works of travel. In addition, he found time to 
 compose another original eulogy and left, at his 
 death in 1788, the manuscript of the Jardin 
 Anglois, ou VariStSs tant originales que traduites, 
 containing many original sketches and fugitive 
 translations. 
 
 As the first complete translator of Shake- 
 speare, Young, and Ossian, as a critic broad- 
 minded and keen, far in advance of his time, as 
 
LE TOUUNEUE, THE MAN 5 
 
 a gracious and winning personality, Le Tour- 
 neur is worthy of being rescued from oblivion, 
 and merits a place among those who have con- 
 tributed to the growth and progress of human 
 thought. For, by bringing the cultivated minds 
 of his own country into contact with the best 
 literature of other nations, he assisted Voltaire 
 in developing that breadth of view and that just 
 appreciation of literary excellence by means of 
 which French criticism has attained its present 
 eminent position. 
 
 Pierre Prime Felicien Le Tourneur was born 
 in Basse Normandie, in the town of Valognes, 
 now in the department of La Manche, June 9, 
 1737, and baptized the following day by Ber- 
 nardin Felix Guillot, vicar of the town. His 
 father was not present at the baptism of the 
 child, and the boy was named by his god-parents, 
 Pierre Vicq de Vallamprey and Marguerite 
 Lonce, wife of Guillaume Le Tourneur. Al- 
 though only about eleven miles from Cherbourg 
 and on the direct line of railway communica- 
 tion between that city and Paris, Valognes is 
 to-day a drowsy, picturesque town of some six 
 thousand inhabitants, almost as devoid of life and 
 
6 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 action as if it lay in an enchanted sleep. But in 
 the eighteenth century it was an important place. 
 It was the seat of a viscountcy, and famous for 
 its manufactories of cloth and lace. It had its 
 own independent governor, a fifteenth-century 
 church, a college, and a library and was the resi- 
 dence of many marquises and barons who 
 erected fine mansions and imitated as closely as 
 possible the gaiety of Paris. Le Sage's comedy 
 of Turcaret, performed in 1709, contains an in- 
 teresting account of Valognes, in which he ridi- 
 cules the provincial society which apes the life 
 of the large city and prides itself on being " un 
 petit Paris."! 
 
 It was in this " little Paris," then, the home 
 later of Burnouf (1821-) the oriental scholar, 
 Gerville (1769-1853) the antiquarian, Pelouze 
 (1807-1867) the chemist, and other distin- 
 guished men, that Pierre Le Tourneur first saw 
 the light. His father, Thomas Le Tourneur, 
 and his mother, Anne Hervieu, practised the 
 trade of lace dealers in Valognes. They 
 were, according to Pujos,^ his chief biographer, 
 
 1 Le Sage, Turcaret, Act V. Scene 7. 
 
 2 M. Pujos, Notice sur la Vie de Le Tourneur, prefixed 
 to Le Jardin Anglois. 
 
LE TOUENEUR, THE MAN 7 
 
 neither rich nor noble, but upright and honest 
 folk who endeavored to make up to their son 
 for their lack of wealth and rank, by giving 
 him the best education that their means could 
 procure. " Le jeune Le Tourneur se montra 
 digne de posseder ce bien," says Pujos ; " on ne 
 pouvoit I'arracher de dessus les livres." He 
 was sent for his Humanities to Coutances, where 
 he received a scholarship and where he was re- 
 marked for his serious and meditative turn of 
 mind and his passionate love of study. Thence 
 he went to the College des Grassins in Paris, 
 where, on the completion of his Rhetorique, he 
 won the first prize of the University. Under 
 ordinary circumstances a young man would then 
 leave college not later than eighteen years of 
 age and it may, therefore, be conjectured that 
 Le Tourneur finished his college career in 
 1754. His biographer, Pujos, however, gives 
 at this point a somewhat vague and rather 
 puzzling piece of information. " Son d^but lit- 
 t^raire," he says, " au sortir des classes, fut dans 
 le genre oratoire. II envoya des Discours tres 
 interessans a plusieurs Academies, et merita 
 d'etre couronn^." At first sight, Pujos would 
 seem by this to refer to two Discours addressed 
 
8 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 to the Academies of Montauban and Besangon 
 in 1766 and 1767, the earliest work of Le Tour- 
 neur of which there is any record, and which 
 one would naturally infer to be his first es- 
 says in literature. But these Diseours were 
 " crowned " by the Academies to which they 
 were presented, and if Pujos refers to them, it 
 would make Le Tourneur remain in college till 
 the age of thirty, a theory hardly tenable. 
 On the other hand, if Le Tourneur graduated 
 in 1754 and made his literary d^but soon 
 after in other Diseours, it is strange that 
 they have been so completely lost.^ It is to be 
 regretted that Pujos did not see fit to be more 
 explicit and did not state exactly what he 
 meant by " au sortir des classes." But he evi- 
 dently thought that a biographer need not con- 
 fine himself to definite facts, exact dates, and 
 accurate statements. He preferred to deal in 
 broad outlines and general assertions, which cer- 
 tainly arouse the reader's interest by stimulat- 
 ing his curiosity. 
 
 1 It is possible that the Diseours of 1766 and 1767 -were 
 not the first essays in literature hy Le Tourneur, but the 
 first which received public recognition, and, therefore, the 
 first considered worthy of notice by his biographer. 
 
LE TOUENEUE, THE MAN 9 
 
 "M. Le Tourneur," he says, after speaking 
 of his literary debut in the words already cited, 
 "contrarie par une situation gSnee, s'attacha a 
 M. de la Briffe, alors Avocat General au Grand 
 Conseil : le plaidoyer que prononga ce Magistrat 
 dans I'affaire d'un religieiix, I'Abbe d'Orval, qui 
 reclamoit centre ses Yceux, excita une vive sen- 
 sation et d^cela la touche du genie auquel nous 
 allions devoir I'estimable traduction d'Young." 
 It would appear from this that Le Tourneur 
 was under the necessity of earning a liveli- 
 hood and engaged in law as the most lucra- 
 tive and honorable profession open to 
 him. But it is not likely that a young man 
 of so pronounced a literary taste and of so 
 mild and retiring a disposition as Le Tourneur 
 appears to have been should have thrown him- 
 self with anything but a temporary ardor into 
 the profession he had chosen. 
 
 It was with difficulty that one of his old 
 friends succeeded in overcoming his distaste for 
 any kind of public life, and in 1771 persuaded 
 him to accept the position of Censeur Royal et 
 Secretaire GrSnSral de la Librairie. "M. Le 
 Tourneur remplit ses devoirs avec autant d' ex- 
 actitude que de probite. S'il eut quelques en- 
 
10 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 nemis," continues Pujos, with delicious naivete, 
 "c'est qu'il est impossible de n'en point avoir, 
 et de contenter tout le monde, lorsqu'on a le 
 malheur d'occuper le moindre poste qui nous 
 mette en relation avec le Public." 
 
 But the gentleness and simplicity of Le Tour- 
 neur and his scholarly and retiring habits ill- 
 fitted him to cope with the world into which he 
 was plunged by the duties of his new position. 
 Whether he lost it through lack of worldly wis- 
 dom, or whether he gave it up of his own free 
 will, is not clear. Whatever the cause, in 1775 
 he "recovered his liberty," in the words of 
 Pujos, and retired to Montrouge, then a suburb 
 of Paris, where he devoted himself with enthu- 
 siasm to literature. 
 
 Le Tourneur had already made a name for 
 himself in the world of letters by his moral 
 essays and eulogies and by his adaptations of 
 Young and Hervey. But although these early 
 works of his were very favorably received, he 
 abandoned, for the time being at least, all origi- 
 nal composition, and began the work of transla- 
 tion which was to occupy him for the rest of his 
 life. All kinds of literature attracted his tire- 
 less pen; the poetry of the school of melancholy 
 
LE TOURNEUR, THE MAN 11 
 
 in the works of Young and Ossian, the drama 
 of Shakespeare, the sentimental novel in Clarissa 
 Harlowe, the moral tale and the essay, history, 
 biography, and stories of exploration and travel, 
 followed one another with astonishing rapidity 
 during the twenty years of his literary career. 
 The translation of a work on Arctic Zoology, 
 published after his death, was the last of his 
 long line of labors, and like the others, with 
 the possible exception of Young, Shakespeare, 
 and Ossian, was destined to fall into ob- 
 livion. 
 
 From the time of Le Tourneur's retirement 
 to Montrouge in 1775, to his death in 1788, 
 one event only in his life is mentioned by his 
 biographer. He became at an unknown date 
 Secretaire ordinaire de Monsieur, brother of the 
 king, who was to be later known as Louis 
 XVIII. Le Tourneur was persuaded by his 
 friends to solicit this position, and he obtained 
 it, mains flatte, says Pujos, " de cette espece de 
 distinction qui auroit pu lui inspirer quelque 
 vanity, qu'anim^ du d^sir d'etre utile a son fils; 
 il a ferm^ les yeux plein de I'esp^rance conso- 
 lante que le grand Prince si digne d'appuyer les 
 Beaux-Arts et auquel il avoit ^t^ attache, con- 
 
12 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 tinueroit d'^tendre son auguste protection sur 
 sa famille." 
 
 This would seem to indicate that Le Tourneur 
 retained the position of Secretary up to the time 
 of his death, and it is possible that he was per- 
 mitted to perform the duties of his office at his 
 own home, instead of being attached directly to 
 the court. In 1779 he was living, or at least 
 had a place of business, in the Hfitel de Valois, 
 rue de Tournon, in Paris, and he died in the rue 
 du Theatre Frangais.^ 
 
 With the exception of a visit which he is said 
 to have made to Valognes, in 1787, with Sebas- 
 tien Mercier and another friend, it is probable 
 that he passed the remainder of his life in his 
 home at Montrouge or in Paris, surrounded 
 by his friends and devoting his time and atten- 
 tion to literature. He was an indefatigable 
 worker, and though hampered by an inherent 
 weakness of constitution, he gave himself no 
 rest from his labors even when his health had 
 become broken by too close and unremitting 
 application to study. Only a week before his 
 death did he consent to lay down his pen, when 
 
 1 Journal de Paris, Sun. Jan. 26, 1788 ; Afflches, An- 
 nonces et Avis divers, Jan. 28, 1788. 
 
LE TOURNEUR, THE MAN 13 
 
 a disorder from which he had suffered for some 
 months confined him to his room. He expired 
 peacefully on the 22nd i or 24th ^ of January, 
 1788, and his body was interred in St. Sulpice ^ 
 on Sunday the 25th. Sdbastien Mercier says 
 that he left a widow and a son three years old,* 
 and this, together with the brief mention of 
 his son by Pujos, already quoted, is almost the 
 only information to be found concerning his 
 family.^ 
 
 1 Desessarts, Siecles Litteraires, 1801, p. 256 ; Journal de 
 Normandie, Eeb. 9, 1788 ; Epitaph in Annee Litteraire, 
 1788, Vol. II. — give Jan. 24. 
 
 2 Ersch, La France Litteraire, 1789, vol. 3 ; Journal 
 General de la France, Eeb. 17, 1788, — give Jan. 22. 
 
 8 Affiches, Annonces et Avis divers, Jan. 28, 1788. 
 
 * Journal de Paris, Jan. 31, 1788. 
 
 ^ The house in which Le Tourneur was bom in Valognes 
 stood close to the northern wall of the sacristy of the church 
 of St. Malo. It was demolished in 1772 in order to widen 
 the highroad from Cherbourg to Paris, and Le Tourneur 
 was to receive an indemnity of 936 francs together with a 
 grant of land near the chateau. Owing to administrative 
 diflSoulties, however, Le Tourneur was paid only 400 francs 
 indemnity. In 1811 Mme. V« Le Tourneur, who had married 
 M. C&ar Ren6 Guyot Duclos, colonel du gfenie, and her 
 son, Louis Eugfene Ffilicien Le Tourneur, captain in the 8th 
 regiment of foot artillery, made an unsuccessful public claim 
 to the grant of land and the payment of the sum due. — 
 Mem. Soc. Arch, de Valognes, 1885, IIL pp. 49-59, article 
 "Le Tourneur," by Augusta Grou. 
 
14 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 The 'year 1788, in which Le Tourneur died, 
 was marked by the loss of a number of dis- 
 tinguished men. The Journal de Normandie 
 for the 30th of April, 1788, notices this fact in 
 an editorial enumerating the great men who 
 had died within a few months. Almost all 
 classes which might attract the attention of 
 posterity, it says, are represented in this fatal 
 list. There is a king, the Pretender ; a prince 
 of the church, the Cardinal de Luines ; a dis- 
 tinguished man of letters, M. Le Tourneur; 
 a great musician, Gliick ; a celebrated orator, 
 M. Gerbier; a promising young painter, M. 
 Drouais; the Tibullus of Germany, Gessner; 
 an Amateur whose life had not lacked glory, 
 d'Argental; and finally, a distinguished natu- 
 ralist, Buffon. It is interesting to find Le 
 Tourneur's name on this list of distinguished 
 men, for although most of them are now re- 
 membered while he is forgotten, his contempo- 
 raries evidently considered him deserving of a 
 place in the Temple of the Immortals. 
 
 Two epitaphs on Le Tourneur were published 
 in current periodicals shortly after his death, 
 and show that, at that time at least, he was 
 more renowned for his rendering of Young's 
 
LE TOURNEUE, THE MAN 15 
 
 Night Thoughts than for his translation of 
 Shakespeare. The first is in the Annee LittS- 
 raire for 1788 (Vol. II. p. 281) : 
 
 Epitaphede M. Le Tourneur, moet LE 24 Janvier, 
 
 1788 
 
 Ci-git I'eloquent le Tourneur, 
 
 D'Young rimitateur fidfele ; 
 
 Si digne d'Stre un bon modele, 
 
 Et par I'esprit et par le ccBur ; 
 
 Sans eclat, sans Fauteuil, il termina sa vie, 
 
 Tandis que tel ou tel brille k I'Academie. 
 
 — Par M. DE Sanct. 
 
 The second is from the Journal de Normandie, 
 April 9, 1788, and is as follows : 
 
 EpiTAPHE DB M. Lb Toueneuk 
 
 Tin sage a vu sa derniere heure : 
 
 En le frappant la mort nous a ravi 
 
 Un Ecrivain sublime, un bon pfere, un ami, 
 
 Un tendre epoux . . . Passant, arrSte, et pleure I 
 
 L'Young Fran9ais repose ici. 
 
 — Par M. DE CoNJON, de Bayeux. 
 
 Le Tourneur's life, as revealed by the account 
 of Pujos and other biographical notices, was 
 singularly barren of incident. Only a few 
 events in his career stand out from the dim 
 background; only a few facts and dates have 
 been remembered and thought worthy of being 
 
16 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 recorded, and diligent search for further and 
 more accurate detail proves unavailing. But 
 however indefinite and unsatisfactory biographi- 
 cal notices may be in regard to the events in 
 Le Tourneur's life, they bear witness with one 
 accord to the worth and charm of his personal 
 character and attributes. Pujos, his chief 
 biographer, Sebastian Mercier, his lifelong 
 friend, Ersch, Sabatier, and Desessarts in their 
 dictionaries of biography, and finally, the con- 
 temporary press, all unite in extolling him with 
 an enthusiasm and sincerity which can hardly 
 be other than genuine. According to their 
 testimony, he was a man of upright character 
 and marked ability, gentle and modest in 
 manner, loyal and zealous in friendship, con- 
 scientious and assiduous in the performance 
 of duty. A letter by Mercier, which appeared 
 in the Journal de Paris, Jan. 31, 1788, is worth 
 quoting at length, both for its sincere and 
 affectionate eulogy and for its keen appreciation 
 of the value of Le Tourneur's work. 
 
LE TOUENEUR, THE MAN 17 
 
 AtJX AuTEURS Du Journal 
 
 Paris, 25 Jan., 1788. 
 
 Messieurs, — La Eepublique des Lettres 
 vient de perdre un Ecrivain distingue et moi 
 un ami rare. Les belles traductions d'Young, 
 d'Ossian, de Shakespeare, de Clarisse, etc., ont 
 ete generalement estimees et admirees. EUes 
 ont imprime a la langue frangoise una force 
 particuliere et une precision nerveuse, quelque 
 chose enfin, de I'accent anglois. C'est la une 
 veritable conquete dont les Frangais pourront 
 s'enorgueillir. La memoire de M. Le Tourneur 
 sera toujours honoree par les services qu'il a 
 rendus aux Lettres en naturalisant parmi 
 nous des Auteurs etrangers pleins de genie; 
 mais qui peindra son caractere si profondement 
 sensible, sa timidite interessante, sa simplicite 
 aimable qui le rapprochoit dans la vie privee 
 du bon La Fontaine? Qui rev^lera I'energie 
 de son ame dans les hautes circonstances, sa 
 sensibilite vraie et inepuisable, sa bonte dans 
 tous les instants de sa vie ? 
 
 Si une liaison intime et non interrompue 
 de vingt-deux annees pent donner ce droit, 
 j'aurai a parler de Thomme qui a le mieux 
 
18 PIERRE LE TOURNEUE 
 
 cru a I'amitie, qui a tout fait pour elle, qui 
 lui rendoit une espece de culte ; et quand 
 j'aurai prouve qu'il fut Tami le plus tendre 
 et le plus indulgent, je n'aurai pas de peine 
 a convaincre qu'il fut un excellent homme. 
 
 Le monde I'a peu connu, sa vie laborieuse 
 s'est ecoulee sous les yeux de ses amis, qui ont 
 joui exclusivement des tresors de son ame; 
 jamais mortel ne fut plus doux et plus patient, 
 tandis que son style etoit fier, energique et 
 vehement. II vecut des jours pleins pour les 
 Lettres et pour la Bienfaisance, voila ce que 
 la verite pourra graver sur son tombeau. II 
 est mort dans sa 52* annee ; il n'etoit d'aucune 
 Academie. II laisse une veuve, et un fils age 
 
 •^^^^^^^ Signe: Mebciee. 
 
 Pujos sounds the same note when speaking 
 of the good qualities of Le Tourneur. He was 
 a " digne citoyen, 6poux et pere tendre, ami le 
 plus zele et le plus constant ; sensible aux maux 
 d'autrui, et soulageant le malheureux, quand sa 
 situation le lui permettoit, et, au defaut des 
 secours pecuniaires, recevant avec attendrisse- 
 ment I'epanchement de ses peines ; la bienfai- 
 sance trouve toujours a se manifester; en un 
 
LE TOURNEUR, THE MAN 19 
 
 mot, loin de se montrer en contrariete avec ses 
 Ouvrages, leur donnant un nouveau prix, par le 
 merite que THomme ajoutoit a I'Ecrivain: tel 
 fut M. Le Tourneur, auquel survivra une repu- 
 tation qui sera, nous n'en doutons point, con- 
 firmee par la Posterite." Thus Pujos concludes 
 his sketch of Le Tourneur's life, and although 
 the fame of his hero has hardly received from 
 posterity the recognition which he felt it de- 
 served, yet the memory of the high-minded and 
 conscientious translator has survived, in spite 
 of the oblivion in which the greater part of his 
 works is slumbering. 
 
 Like Corneille, he had in society the candor 
 and the timidity of a child, and his conversation 
 was as gentle as his manners. His house was 
 the image of peace and happiness. He was a 
 stranger to every feeling of hatred, jealousy, or 
 ill-will, far removed from vexatious ambition 
 and literary rivalry. A tender husband and 
 father, a faithful and constant friend, he spent 
 calm and laborious days in the company of his 
 family, his friends, and the literary pursuits he 
 loved. All speak of him with affection and 
 regret, as one whose charm and whose vir- 
 tues were an example to all men, and whose 
 
20 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 work deserved to win him a place in the 
 Academy. 
 
 Finally, as an epitome of the general opinion 
 upon Le Tourneur, may be cited the anonymous 
 lines beneath the portrait of him, drawn from 
 life, it is said, by A. Pujos, in 1788:^ 
 
 "Ne croyant que traduire, il crea ses Ecrits: 
 Doux, sensible et modeste, il ignora sa gloire. 
 II ne mourra jamais au temple de Memoire, 
 Ni dans le cceur de ses amis." 
 
 ^ There is an engraving of this portrait in the Puhlio 
 Library of Valogues, and a reproduction of it is to be found 
 in Shakespeare in France under the Old Begime, by J. J. 
 Jusserand, London, 1899, p. 353. The original is in the 
 D6partement des Estampes, Biblioth6que Nationale, Paris. 
 
II. THE WRITER OF ESSAYS AND 
 EULOGIES 
 
 Although Le Tourneur is now remembered 
 only as a translator, at the beginning of his lit- 
 erary career he was regarded by his contempo- 
 raries as a promising writer of no small original 
 ability. The serious and philosophic turn of 
 mind, which was so marked a feature of his 
 college days, found expression some years later 
 in the publication, in 1768, of a slender volume 
 of a hundred and seventy-six pages, containing 
 three moral essays and a eulogy of Charles V.^ 
 In 1766 and 1767 the Academies of Mon- 
 tauban and of Besangon offered prizes for 
 the best essays upon certain given subjects. 
 Le Tourneur entered the lists as a competitor, 
 and his essays won the offered reward. The 
 Discours which was " crowned " by the Acad- 
 
 1 Discours moraux couronnes dans les Academies de 
 Montauban et de Besangon en 1766 et 1767 avec un J^loge 
 de Charles V. roi de France, par M"^, Paris, 1768, 176 pp. 
 Also reprinted in Le Jardin Anglois, Paris, 1788. 
 21 
 
22 PIERRE LE TOURNETJR 
 
 emy of Montauban is the best and most inter- 
 esting of the three. It discusses, in some forty- 
 pages, the question : " Est-il utile a la Societe 
 que le Coeur de I'homme soit un mystere ? " 
 The subject is treated with considerable skill, 
 and the style, though somewhat rhetorical, has 
 a certain naive earnestness of conviction which 
 goes far to enlist the sympathy of the reader. 
 Le Tourneur's answer to the question is in the 
 affirmative, and his reason, briefly stated, is that 
 the minds of men are too feeble, their self-love 
 too strong, to permit them to live together in 
 peace and harmony if they could read the truth 
 in one another's hearts. An introductory 
 statement of the fact that man's knowledge of 
 his fellow-man is at best but obscure and shad- 
 owy is followed by the question of the essay, 
 and the argument is carried on in dialogue form 
 between an old man and a youth. The young 
 man first answers the question in the negative, 
 and, with all the enthusiasm of youth, sets forth 
 the crimes committed, the innocent condemned, 
 the friendships destroyed, and other evils of 
 society due to men's ignorance of one another 
 — their motives, their temptations, their 
 struggles. The old man replies to his ardor: 
 
THE WRITER OF ESSAYS AND EULOGIES 23 
 
 " Mais, malgre les maux affreux, qui me font 
 hater vers le tombeau, que j'entrevois deja, mal- 
 gre quelques autres que la connoissance parfaite 
 du coeur de I'homme pourroit peut-etre pr6venir ; 
 reste, jeune homme, paisible et resigne dans 
 I'obscurite qui t'environne. Crois qu'elle est 
 necessaire a la Societe. Crois-en I'auteur de la 
 nature. C'est pour notre bien qu'il nous a con- 
 damn6s tous a cette ignorance reciproque; il a 
 pr6vu que les cceurs en devenant vicieux et 
 mauvais devoient rester caches I'un a I'autre. 
 Crois en ta raison. Si tu I'interroges dans le 
 silence de la retraite, elle te dira que si les 
 cceurs se voyoient mutuellement, I'amitie, I'es- 
 perance, I'estime, tous les liens les plus doux et 
 les plus forts qui unissent la Societe seroient 
 brises ou affoiblis, que la vertu y perdroit, et 
 que la Societe meme ne pourroit gueres man- 
 quer de se dissoudre." 
 
 After this grandiloquent beginning, the old 
 man takes up each point of his opponent's argu- 
 ment, one after another, and proves, to his own 
 satisfaction at least, the diminution of virtue, 
 the disappearance of friendship and esteem, and 
 the destruction of society, as the result of man's 
 exact knowledge of the human heart. Here 
 
24 PIERKE LE TOUENEUE 
 
 and there are phrases that ring like an echo of 
 La Eochefoucauld.i Yet the tone of the essay- 
 throughout is optimistic, and the effect of its 
 smoothly flowing phrases is like that of a broad 
 and gently moving river, serene and calm under 
 a summer sun. 
 
 The other two Disoours which took prizes at 
 the Academy of Besan§on in 1766 and 1767 
 treat of more ordinary subjects : (1) " II im- 
 porte autant aux Nations qu'aux Particuliers 
 d'avoir une bonne reputation." (2) " Combien 
 
 1 " Les larmes que nous versons sur nos propres maux 
 sont bien plus brulantes que celles que nous r^pandons sur 
 les maux d'autrul." 
 
 " Nous alinons mieux nous aveugler encore sur les autres, 
 que de les voir trop fclaircis sur nous-m§mes." 
 
 " Nous ue nous croyons parfaits, que lorsque nous nous 
 comparons aux autres ; d6s que nous ne regardons que nous 
 seuls nous sentons malgr^ nous nos imperfections." 
 
 " En lisant dans I'Sme des autres, nous saurions qu'ils 
 lisent aussi dans la n6tre. Nous craignons bien plus d'etre 
 devines que nous n'aimons k deviner les autres hommes. 
 Leur surprendre un dgfaut n'est au plus qu'un plaisir d^licat 
 qui chatouille notre orgueil, mais §tre surpris par eux dans 
 les n6tres, c'est une douleur vive qui nous d^chire I'Sme. 
 Pourrions-nous nous empScher de hair les tgmoins oculaires 
 et perp^tuels de notre misfere et de notre honte ? La vue 
 r^ciproque de leurs vices et de leurs d^fauts ne nous con- 
 soleroit pas plus que la vue d'un malheureux n'en console 
 un autre." 
 
THE WRITER OF ESSAYS AND EULOGIES 25 
 
 le Courage d'Esprit est necessaire dans tous les 
 Etats." The first is the more ambitious of the 
 two in treatment, consisting of a formal intro- 
 duction and two parts. The line of argument 
 is clear and logical, and, in spite of a tendency 
 to rhetoric and occasional bombast, the style 
 rises to moments of real eloquence and has 
 more than one touch of literary grace. The 
 Introduction states the interdependence of men 
 and the necessity of a good reputation in their 
 needs and pleasures. The First Part obviously 
 discusses the value of a good reputation among 
 individuals. It is an aid in enjoying good 
 fortune, in winning public and private esteem, 
 it consoles and protects in misfortune and is 
 the necessary accompaniment of virtue. With 
 nations, a good reputation is even more im- 
 portant than with individuals, inasmuch as 
 their life is longer and more complex, and their 
 influence more widespread. The treatment of 
 this statement occupies Part II, and the author 
 finds his proofs in examples from history, which 
 he quotes with aptness and conviction, showing 
 that those nations with a reputation for justice, 
 virtue, and good faith have prospered and en- 
 dured, while others have fallen through their 
 
26 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 own weakness and corruption. The whole 
 essay, says the Journal des Savants (March, 
 1771), may be regarded as a refutation of 
 Machiavellism : " La nation la plus juste doit 
 devenir a la fin la plus puissante." 
 
 " Qu'est-ce done que le courage d'esprit?" 
 asks Le Tourneur, at the beginning of the third 
 Discours. " Rien autre chose," he answers, 
 " que la force de vouloir etre ce que nous sommes 
 n^cessairement par notre nature, en nous appuy- 
 ant de I'intime conviction que la vertu est le 
 premier besoin de I'homme. . . . Vouloir, c'est 
 tout dans la vie." With this as the keynote, he 
 develops, with a good deal of ingenuity, an al- 
 most Epicurean system of philosophy. Like a 
 good reputation, " le Courage d'Esprit " is the 
 touchstone of life, which aids man in joy, con- 
 soles him in sorrow, and inspires him to deeds of 
 heroism. Towards the close of the essay are 
 two references to men of letters, Milton ^ and 
 
 ^ " Pauvre, accablfi de maux, sans consolation, sans appui, 
 privS de la vue et des illusions charmantes qui soutiennent 
 la jeunesse, c'est au sein des douleurs et de I'infortune que 
 Milton dessine les bocoages d'ilden. Son coeur flgtri par 
 les approches de la mort n'est ramenfi que par 1' amour de la 
 gloire. . . . C'est au bord de son tombeau qu'il 6rige le 
 monument de sa gloire." p. 119. 
 
THE WRITER OF ESSAYS AND EULOGIES 27 
 
 Voltaire ^ : the former significant as showing Le 
 Tourneur's acquaintance with English literature 
 thus early in his career ; the latter, interesting as 
 the first expression of the admiration he always 
 manifested for his great compatriot. 
 
 The Hloge de Charles V. roi de France, the 
 last essay in the volume, competed for a prize 
 offered by the French Academy in 1767. Le 
 Tourneur failed in this contest, the prize being 
 actually won by La Harpe,^ although success 
 was attributed to him by at least one enthusi- 
 astic journal.^ Both writers follow practically 
 the same line of argument. Each eulogy is di- 
 vided formally into an Introduction and two parts, 
 and each discusses Charles V. under the double 
 
 1 "Et toi, I'honneur de la Eranoe et de ton si^ole, r6- 
 ponds : immortel Voltaire, quand tu. arrivas k oet §.ge, sans 
 doute pr6matur6 pour toi, oh I'homme commence k se juger 
 lui-mSme, et k connoitre la mesure de ses facult^s, pr§t 
 k parcourir ton immense oarrifere, ne juras-tu point dans 
 ton ccEur de remplir aveo courage la sublime t§,che que 
 t'imposoient la nature et ton g^nie ? Combien de fois le 
 courage a-t-il affermi dans tes mains les pinceaux de la 
 Po^sie et le burin de I'Histoire que I'envie en fureur vouloit 
 t'arracher?" p. 119. 
 
 2 Mloge de Charles V. Boi de France qui a remporte le 
 Frix de VAcademie franqoise en 1767, par M. de la Harpe, 
 Paris, 1767. 
 
 8 Journal JEncyclopedique, October, 1768. 
 
28 PIERRE LE TOITRNEUR 
 
 aspect of Restorer and Protector of his people. 
 That of Le Tourneur is, on the whole, less 
 spontaneous and more labored in style than his 
 Discours Moraux, less interesting and less con- 
 vincing than that of La Harpe. Le Tourneur 
 falls here frequently into his favorite vice of fine 
 virriting and the interest occasionally flags, lost 
 in a maze of detail. He seems to struggle, by 
 the use of flamboyant language and rhetorical 
 apostrophe, to express an eloquence which he 
 does not feel, and to atone for his own lack of 
 conviction by an atmosphere of almost hysteri- 
 cal hero-worship. The following lines will show 
 one of his attempts at eloquence : 
 
 " L'astre de I'Univers nous emporte autour de 
 lui sur la terre, nous nous croyons independans, 
 nous nous sentons detaches du globe lumineux 
 qui nous meut avec le notre. Ainsi Charles par 
 un mouvement insensible, entraina constamment 
 les Fran§ois vers le bonheur. Le flambeau de 
 sa vie, en s'eteignant, alluma celui de la gloire 
 sur sa tombe, il y a regu le salaire des Rois dans 
 les larmes de son Peuple." 
 
 The Introduction, which is the best part of 
 the Essay, is rather far-fetched, but perhaps 
 quaint enough in conception to warrant summa- 
 
THE WRITER OP ESSAYS AND EULOGIES 29 
 
 rizing. In Egypt, begins Le Tourneur, it was 
 the custom, at the death of a ruler, for a tribunal 
 to assemble and pronounce judgment upon his 
 life and reign. If he were declared wise and 
 beneficent, his remains were buried with pomp 
 and glory, and there was written on his tomb : 
 " Here he continues to reign." If, on the con- 
 trary, he had been unjust and cruel, his body was 
 destroyed and his name became a byword of 
 dishonor. This custom, though unperceived and 
 generally unknown, survives among us to-day. 
 Truth is the tribunal which observes the sover- 
 eigns of the world as they pass, pronounces judg- 
 ment upon them, and hands their names on to 
 History to be preserved with everlasting glory or 
 shame. Truth has passed judgment upon Charles 
 V. and proclaimed him sage. " C'est elle qui 
 appelle encore aujourd'hui les Arts pour rendre 
 dans leur Temple un hommage public a leur pre- 
 mier Protecteur, au Restaurateur de la France." 
 But perhaps the most noteworthy thing in 
 the essay is the concluding lines, in which Le 
 Tourneur makes a significant criticism upon the 
 system of education which he had received. 
 After naively expressing the hope that if his 
 Eulogy does not receive the prize, the winner 
 
30 PIEKRE LE TOUENEUE 
 
 •will be at least a Frenchman and not a foreigner, 
 he concludes: 
 
 " Ce Sage me fut longtems inconnu ! Vous 
 qui fatiguiez ma jeune memoire des noms des 
 conquerans et des Tyrans de Rome, vous ne 
 m'aviez point prononce son nom." 
 
 This Eulogy, as well as the Discours Moraux, 
 was favorably received by the public, and 
 highly commended by contemporary critics.^ 
 The young author had every encouragement to 
 "continue, but, with the exception of one slight 
 sketch, it was not until ten years later that he 
 again entered the field of literature as a dis- 
 tinctly original writer. 
 
 In 1766 there appeared in the NScrologie des 
 Hommes eilebres^ an "Eloge de Clairaut"^ the 
 
 1 "L'auteur sjait r^fl^chir, il S9ait penser, U sqait ^orire ; 
 il m^rite les plus grands encouragements, et parmi ceux qui 
 liriguent les couronnes acad^miques, 11 en est pen qui soient 
 entr^s dans oette oarrifere avec plus de talent." — Annee 
 Litteraire, July 7, 1768. 
 
 " M. M=^ m^rite des 61oges, puisque sans Itre ni diflus 
 ni trop concis, il a eu I'art dMpuiser ses sujets sans tomber 
 dans la prolixity, de ne laisser au Lecteur rien a, d^sirer sans 
 Dependant en dire trop, et de desoendre dans les plus grands 
 details sans cesser d'etre int&essant." — Journal Encyclo- 
 pedique, October, 1768. 
 
 2 Necrologie des Hommes cUebres de France, Paris, 1766. 
 * Alexis Claude Clairaut (1713-1765), mathematician and 
 
THE WRITER OF ESSAYS AND EULOGIES 31 
 
 celebrated mathematician, which may be Le 
 Tourneur's first published attempt at literary 
 composition. It is a slight, colorless sketch of 
 the life and work of Clairaut and would de- 
 serve only a word of mention were it not for a 
 possible doubt as to its authorship. In the 
 Necrologie it is attributed to M. Fontaine, prob- 
 ably Fontaine-Malherbe, who wrote for the 
 same volume a eulogy of Carl van Loo, the 
 painter. The same article, however, with slight 
 verbal changes and abridgments,^ is reprinted in 
 Le Jardin Anglois,^ a posthumous work of Le 
 Tourneur. In the matter of internal evidence 
 thQ weight of proof is slightly in favor of Le 
 Tourneur, although this slender sketch shows 
 less marked characteristics of style than a more 
 ambitious work. However, inasmuch as Fon- 
 taine was already a successful contributor to 
 the Necrologie, it seems not improbable that if 
 
 astronomer, friend of Maupertuis and Mme. du Chatelet, 
 Member of Academies of Paris, London, Berlin, author of 
 Elements of Geometry, Algebra, etc. 
 
 1 The "Eloge de Clairaut" in the Necrologie contains 
 some mediocre verses said to be addressed to Clairaut by 
 Voltaire, and omitted in Le Jardin Anglois. 
 
 2 Le Jardin Anglois, Paris, 1788, Vol. I. Also attributed 
 to Le Tourneur by Ersoh, La France Litteraire, 1811, article 
 "Le Tourneur." 
 
32 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 the two were friends,^ the essay might be by Le 
 Tourneur, even though printed under the name 
 of another ■ — ■ a custom not uncommon at the 
 time. Moreover, it seems unlikely that so zeal- 
 ous a friend as Le Tourneur's biographer, Pujos, 
 who wrote the Preface for Le Jardin Anglois, 
 should have been ignorant of the authorship of 
 the article, and should have consented to the 
 publication in the works of his hero of so 
 trivial an essay by another. 
 
 The year following the publication of the 
 Discours Moraux, Le Tourneur began the work 
 of translation which was to occupy him for the 
 rest of his life. Ten years afterwards, remem- 
 bering perhaps his first success, he paused long 
 enough in his translation of Shakespeare to 
 publish in 1778 an Moge du Mareehal du Muy^ 
 which won him another prize, this time at the 
 Academy of Marseilles. It is a distinct ad- 
 vance in style and composition upon the Eloge 
 
 1 Fontaine-Malherbe was associated with Le Tourneur in 
 the work of the first two volumes of the translation of 
 Shakespeare, 1776. 
 
 " £loge de M. le Mareehal du Muy, qui a remporte le prix 
 du jugement de VAcademie de Marseille, le S5 ao&t 1778 
 par M. Le Tourneur. Bruxelles et Paris, 1778, p. 159. Also 
 reprinted in Le Jardin Anglois, Paris, 1788, Vol. II. 
 
THE WRITER OF ESSAYS AND EULOGIES 33 
 
 de Charles V. The story of Du Muy's life is 
 told with simplicity, clearness, and directness. 
 The charm of his personality, his singleness of 
 purpose, his valor, his virtues, his deep religious 
 feeling, his disinterested devotion, like a second 
 Agricola, to the Dauphin and to his country, 
 are brought out with singular distinctness and 
 persuasive eloquence. The whole eulogy is as 
 clear-cut as a cameo ; it is like a curious antique 
 gem in an old-fashioned setting. The closing 
 lines may be cited as an example of Le Tour- 
 neur's skill in peroration: 
 
 " Vertueux du Muy, homme de bien, c'est 
 sous ce titre que ton nom sera consacre dans les 
 fastes de notre Histoire, il suivra nos derniers 
 Neveux dans une eternelle societe, le nom du 
 Prince a qui tu fus devoue: ta memoire sera 
 toujours chere a son auguste Fils, que tu as 
 servi trop peu de terns ; mais ton ame immor- 
 telle le sert encore aupres de I'Etre supreme. 
 Oui, du haut des Cieux ou tu as rejoint son 
 auguste Pere, tu t'interesses toujours avec lui 
 au bonheur de la France ; tous deux vous con- 
 tinuez d'inspirer le coeur du jeune Roi qui 
 nous promet le regne des Mceurs, des Lois 
 et de la Religion, tous deux vous contemplez 
 
34 PIERRE LE TOURNEUK 
 
 d'un regard satisfait les transports naissans 
 de la Nation dans I'Esperance prochaine d'un 
 Heritier qui rassemble les vertus de I'Ayeul 
 et du Pere. Si le ciel daigne I'accorder a nos 
 voeux nous n'aurons plus qu'une priere a lui 
 adresser sur son berceau : nous lui demanderons 
 encore un Sage tel que Du Muy pour former 
 sa jeunesse, et un Trone toujours entoure de 
 Ministres qui lui ressemblent." 
 
 This eulogy, slight and simple though it is, 
 stands unique among Le Tourneur's works. 
 With the exception of the Shakespeare quarrel, 
 it called forth the only unfavorable criticism to 
 be found anywhere among his contemporaries 
 during his entire literary career of twenty 
 years. The eulogy was reviewed and warmly 
 commended in a letter to the Correspondance 
 secrete, politique et litteraire in November, 
 1778.^ On Dec. 19 appeared, in the same peri- 
 odical,^ a scathing criticism of it, apparently 
 by one of those " enemies whom it is impossible 
 to be without," in the words of the astute 
 Pujos. That the satire was prompted by a 
 
 1 Gorrespondance secrete, politique et litteraire, London, 
 1787, 18 vols., Vol. VII. p. 109, Nov. 14, 1778. 
 
 2 Ibid. 19, December, 1778, in La Petaudiere, p. 179. 
 
THE WRITER OF ESSAYS AND EULOGIES 35 
 
 spirit of carping criticism, rather than by a 
 desire to be impartially and keenly just, may be 
 seen by a few amusing examples. Le Tourneur 
 had dedicated his eulogy to Madame la Marechale 
 du Muy, beginning in the following terms : 
 
 " Madame, C'est a vous que je dois offrir la 
 couronne accordee a cette foible esquisse, jugee 
 la plus ressemblante a I'homme vertueux que la 
 France regrette avec vous. L'hommage public 
 et sincere que j'ai rendu a sa memoire appartient 
 aussi h la tendre et vertueuse eppuse qui lui 
 survit." 
 
 "La premiere phrase seule," says the critic, 
 " invite a fermer le livre. Quelle est la couronne 
 accordSe a r esquisse de M. Le Tourneur? Ne 
 sont-ce pas la medaille et les lauriers qui I'accom- 
 pagnent? Ce n'est pas la cependant, ce que 
 I'Orateur offre a Madame la Marechale. II n'a 
 done pas dit ce qu'il vouloit dire. C'est I'es- 
 quisse qui a obtenu la couronne qu'il presente 
 k Madame du Muy, et non la couronne accordee 
 a I'Esquisse. Ce qui suit n'est guere plus 
 heureux. Qui lui survit, est de trop ; car, si 
 vous dediez h Madame du Muy I'eloge de son 
 mari mort, il est evident qa'elle lui survit. 
 L'usage n'est pas de dedier ses ouvrages aux 
 
36 PIEERE LB TOtJENEUR 
 
 morts. . . . Voyons I'esquisse et gardens nous 
 de nous appesantir sur les details. . . . Voici le 
 commencement : 
 
 " ' Combien d'hommes celebres chez qui la 
 gloire ou la vertu ne furent qu'un hasard ! ' 
 
 " Je crois que le mot hasard qui est tres Men 
 applique a la gloire, convient tres mal a la vertu, 
 et que cette pensee ainsi exprimee n'est pas 
 Traie. ' Sans la fortune qui fit la moitie de 
 I'oeuvre, sans les passions qui exalterent leur 
 courage et les eleverent par intervalle au-dessus 
 d'eux memes, ils auroient vecu sans merite et 
 seroient morts sans renommee.' 
 
 " Qui fit la moitie de I'oeuvre est trivial et le 
 reste ne presente rien que de commun. Qui 
 ne salt pas que sans les passions, I'homme est 
 nul? Et c'est precisement ce que I'orateur a 
 delaye en trois lignes glaciales. Plus bas, on 
 voit une lacune immense et sterile qui vHa rien 
 produit.^ Je desirerois savoir quelles sont les 
 laounes f^condes et si le mot sterile dit moins 
 que qui rCa rien -produit. Voila ce qu'on ne 
 
 i"Le cours de leur vie est sem^ de quelques actions 
 &latautes ; tout le reste de I'espace qu'ils ont parcouru 
 pr&ente une lacune immense et sterile qui n'a rien produit 
 ou que le vice a fouill^e." 
 
THE WRITER OP ESSAYS AND EULOGIES 37 
 
 craint pas d'appeler aujourd'hui de I'elo- 
 quence." 
 
 The critic continues in this way, attacking the 
 unfortunate eulogy, word by word, phrase by 
 phrase, until the editor, who is apparently quite 
 out of sympathy with his contributor, apologeti- 
 cally spares the reader the last seven pages. 
 In spite of this single voice of protest, how- 
 ever, Le Tourneur's fame, which was then well 
 established by his esteemed translations of 
 Young and Shakespeare, suffered no diminution. 
 He did, indeed, give up original work, but he 
 had already been engaged for ten years in the 
 interpretation of English literature rather than 
 in contributions to his own. Absorbed as he 
 was more and more deeply in the work of 
 translation, it was not until ten years more had 
 passed that he took time for another original 
 essay, which was published shortly after his 
 death. 
 
 The Voyage d Ermenonville was written to 
 serve as preface to an edition of Rousseau, 
 published by Poingot in 1788.1 The first 
 
 1 Voyage a Ermenonville, par feu M. Le Tourneur pour 
 servir de Preface. CEuvres complfetes de J. J. Rousseau, 
 Poinjot. Paris, 1788, Vol. L pp. 60-176. 
 
38 PIERRE LE TOURNEUE 
 
 volume contains an introduction by Mercier, 
 who was a lifelong and intimate friend of Le 
 Tourneur, and it seems probable that the 
 sketch was undertaken at his suggestion. It is 
 an account of the author's visit to the tomb of 
 Rousseau in the company of two Englishmen 
 whom he had met in Bourgogne. He acceded 
 willingly to their invitation to accompany them 
 in the capacity of friend and guide : " curieux 
 d'etre temoin des impressions que feroit la vue 
 de ce lieu sur I'&me dedaigneuse d'un Anglois, 
 d'autant plus curieux que mes deux nouveaux 
 compagnons de voyage savoient sentir et 
 s'exprimer dans notre langue et qu'ils ne man- 
 quoient ni d'imagination ni de sensibilite." ^ 
 
 An interesting discussion as to the relative 
 merits of French and English landscape garden- 
 ing takes place at Chantilly, where the travelers 
 spend a night on their way to Ermenonville. 
 The Frenchman, after vainly trying to convince 
 his companions- of the superiority of the French 
 garden, suggests a combination of the two 
 styles as a perfect model. Finding that even 
 this generous compromise is only half-heart- 
 edly received, he takes refuge in good-natured 
 1 p. 61. 
 
THE WRITER OF ESSAYS AND EULOGIES 39 
 
 raillery, and declares that each style of garden 
 is but the expression of the national character. 
 
 " Celui du Francois dans ses jardins me sem- 
 ble assez analogue h son humeur et a son moral. 
 Franc, ouvert, ne deguisant rien, impatient, il 
 aime a offrir a la fois aux regards tout ce qu'il 
 a de richesse et de magnificence : leger et vo- 
 lage, il aime a embrasser tout d'un coup d'ceil, 
 comme un mot devoile toute son ame, comme sa 
 confiance se donne en un moment a la physio- 
 nomie a laquelle il se previent. L'Anglois, au 
 contraire, moins communicatif, plus sombre, plus 
 ferme, se cache et se retire dans les ombres et 
 les detours ; il ne s'ouvre a la confiance et ne se 
 laisse penetrer que par degres; il faut du tems 
 pour parcourir tout son interieur. Ses jardins 
 sont comme son ame. Le Frangois met tout 
 dehors sous I'ceil de I'etranger : I'Anglois ne se 
 montre et ne se developpe que piece a piece." ^ 
 
 The rest of the sketch consists of a detailed 
 description of the gardens of Ermenonville, to- 
 gether with an account of Rousseau's installa- 
 tion there and his last moments, related by a 
 guide at the request of the Englishmen, who 
 are so profoundly impressed with all they see 
 1 p. 85. 
 
40 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 and hear that they preserve a reverent silence, 
 and thus relieve Le Tourneur of the labor of 
 noting down their sentiments.^ 
 
 " L'ame occupee et agreablement affectee " 
 will perhaps be the effect also upon the modern 
 reader of this pleasantly written essay. Like 
 the moral essays and the eulogies, it has the 
 delicate, individual charm of an old-fashioned 
 garden, an atmosphere like the perfume of 
 lavender and old lace. Besides its intrinsic 
 value, it reveals one or two interesting facts 
 concerning the author. He speaks in the be- 
 ginning of having known Rousseau person- 
 ally. ^ This, of course, is possible, but it is 
 the only reference to be found concerning 
 the acquaintance. He had been in Bourgogne; 
 
 1 "Le leoteur qui ne trouve plus de reflexions de mes 
 deux Anglois jugera ais^ment par leur silence que leur 3,me 
 6toit oocupge et agreablement affectee." p. 136. 
 
 " " Je ne me vanterai point d' avoir ete son ami, mais je 
 I'avois vu de tems en tems dansle cours de quatre ann^es, 
 tantSt dans la society, tantSt sous I'humble toit de son 
 quatri&me etage ; et quoique cette liaison, tout respect de 
 ma part et de la sienne estime et bienveillance, ait brusque- 
 ment fini par un precede bizarre d'aprfes les rfegles sociales 
 mais sans doute consequent k ses principes ou k, ses f oiblesses, 
 je n'en fus que surpris un moment sans §tre offense, et je 
 conserverai toujours une juste admiration pour son genie, et 
 un teudre sentiment pour sa personne." p. 1. 
 
THE WRITER OF ESSAYS AND EULOGIES 41 
 
 he probably did not speak English, since the 
 party conversed in French, and apparently had 
 not visited England.^ The style of the essay, 
 the turn of phrase, the general atmosphere 
 throughout, is very like Le Tourneur, yet it 
 is possible that it was not original with him, 
 but was the translation or imitation of some- 
 thing he had read in English. The reason for 
 doubt is a note, presumably by the editor, at 
 the end of the essay: "II paroit que I'auteur 
 anglois du Voyage d Urmenonville a induit en 
 erreur I'imitateur frangois. La statue equestre 
 qui se voit a Chantilly et dont il est question 
 a la page 81 n'est point celle du due de Mont- 
 morency, etc." (G. B.)2 
 
 It seems probable, however, that the note 
 itself is a mistake, and that for auteur anglois, 
 should be read personnage anglois. For it is 
 unlikely that an English writer should speak 
 in the person of a Frenchman accompanying 
 two Englishmen, as does the author of this 
 sketch, that he should characterize his own 
 
 1 " Je n'ai point vu leurs jardins fameux ni Stowe ni 
 Blenheim." p. 91. 
 
 2 "Cette statue (spoken by milord) gquestre que voilk 
 devant le palais est ceUe de ce conn^table fait prisonnier k 
 la bataille de Castelnaudary et d6capit6 ^ Toulouse." p. 81. 
 
42 PIERKE LE TODRNEUR 
 
 nation as dedaigneuse, and should uphold with 
 such warmth the value of French gardens, etc. 
 But if, nevertheless, the essay was by an Eng- 
 lish writer, it was doubtless very freely ren- 
 dered or adapted by Le Tourneur until, for 
 all practical purposes, it became an original 
 composition. However it may be, the Voyage 
 a JErmenonville was the last original work at- 
 tributed to Le Tourneur and published sepa- 
 rately from his translations. That his original 
 literary output was so small must be a matter 
 of regret to the modern world as it was to his 
 contemporaries. The sincerity of his feeling, 
 the breadth and tolerance of his views, the 
 clearness and keenness of his judgment, his 
 gift of insight and literary appreciation, might 
 easily, it would seem, have won him a place 
 and a name in the history of oratory or criti- 
 cism. 
 
III. THE INTERPRETER OF THE 
 ENGLISH SCHOOL OF MELAN- 
 CHOLY: TRANSLATIONS OF YOUNG, 
 HERVEY, AND OSSIAN 
 
 The Discours Moraux of 1768 had attracted 
 considerable attention and received much fa- 
 vorable comment. Le Tourneur was already- 
 talked of in literary circles as a rising young 
 author who was destined to make a name for 
 himself in the world of letters. It is not im- 
 probable that, if he had continued to follow the 
 path upon which he had entered, he might have 
 come down to posterity as an eloquent orator 
 or critical essayist. But unfortunately for the 
 hopes of his friends, Le Tourneur was caught 
 in the great flood of enthusiasm for English 
 literature which swept over France in the 
 latter half of the eighteenth century and was 
 at its height between 1760 and 1789. He was 
 straightway converted from an essayist to a 
 43 
 
44 PIERRE LB TOURNBUR 
 
 translator and on his translations rests what- 
 ever fame he may enjoy to-day. 
 
 As early as 1767 he was acquainted with 
 the work of Milton, and had probably even 
 then made fugitive translations from Paradise 
 Lost, which were later incorporated in the post- 
 humous Jardin Anglois. 
 
 The year following the appearance of the 
 Discours Moraux, Le Tourneur published his 
 first translations, two slight sketches, entitled : 
 La Jeune fille seduite and Le Courtisan Sermite.^ 
 From this as a starting-point, he practically 
 abandoned the field of original composition which 
 he had just so successfully entered, and later in 
 the same year leaped with one bound into fame 
 and glory by his translation of the Night Thoughts 
 of Edward Young. This change of work on 
 his part is not surprising in view of the Anglo- 
 mania which was then the fashion, and the 
 business of interpretation not only favored the 
 current of popular taste, but afforded the aspirant 
 to literary honors a rapid, if laborious, road to 
 reputation. 
 
 Le Tourneur's first attempt at translation 
 
 1 La Jeune fille seduite et Le Courtisan Hermite, traduites 
 de I'Anglois par M. Le Tourneur, Paris, 1769, p. 51. 
 
THE ENGLISH SCHOOL OF MELANCHOLY 45 
 
 brought him favor, but not fame. La Jeune 
 fille s&duite and Le Oourtisan Hermite are short 
 moral tales whose subjects are perhaps suffi- 
 ciently indicated by their titles. Almost entirely 
 without local color or marked characteristics of 
 style, it has been impossible to discover the Eng- 
 lish originals among the countless similar tales 
 which filled the periodicals of the day. The first 
 relates the story of a young girl led astray by 
 the woman to whose charge she had been con- 
 fided. After years of a life of shame, she retires 
 with lost beauty and shattered health to Tun- 
 bridge, where she resolves to write her story as 
 a warning to others of her sex. In Le Oourtisan 
 Hermite an aged courtier tells Polydore, a youth 
 who passes his retreat, by chance, the story of 
 his disillusionment at court and his withdrawal 
 from the world. His closing words, quoted with 
 favorable comment by leading journals,^ will 
 give an example both of the moral tone and of 
 the style. 
 
 " Quelque situation, quelque genre de vie 
 que vous desiriez, et que vous vous proposiez 
 de vous procurer, ne vous laissez pas seduire 
 
 1 UAvant Goureur, September, 1769 ; Mercure de France, 
 September, 1769. 
 
46 PIEKEE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 par les avantages qu'il vous promet et songez a 
 vous faire une idee claire et distincte de tous 
 les desagrements qui y sont attaches. Moi, 
 apres un mois d'experience, j'ai dedaigne, j'ai 
 rejete avec degout ce meme poste que j'avois 
 employe toute ma vie a desirer et a obtenir." 
 
 Not least in interest among the phases of 
 English life and thought which attracted French 
 Anglomaniacs was the so-called Grave Yard 
 School of poets, or the literature of melancholy, 
 represented by the writings of Gray, Milton, Col- 
 lins, and Young. In France the way had been 
 prepared for the appreciation of such literature, 
 first by the translation of Richardson's senti- 
 mental novels, then hj the work of the sensi- 
 tive, romantic, and mystic Rousseau. Thus, in 
 1760, the appearance of a small volume entitled: 
 Pensis Angloises sur divers sujets de religion et 
 de morale,^ a series of reflections drawn from the 
 Night Thoughts of Edward Young, was cordially 
 received. The taste for meditations upon death 
 and immortality was encouraged by literary 
 men, who, seeing which way the wind of public 
 desire was blowing, hastened to set their sails in 
 that direction and to follow this newly acquired 
 I Amsterdam, 1760. 
 
THE ENGLISH SCHOOL OF MELANCHOLY 47 
 
 fashion. In 1762 the Comte de Bissy, a member 
 of the French Academy and lieutenant-general 
 of Languedoc, made a translation of the first 
 Night Thought, which was published in the 
 Journal Etranger. This met with instant and 
 phenomenal success, and was the first of a 
 series of translations of one or more Nights in a 
 spirited rivalry among literary men as to who 
 should be the first or best interpreter of the 
 melancholy poet. Such an increase of interest 
 prepared the way for an enthusiastic reception 
 of the complete translation of the Night 
 Thoughts, and Le Tourneur, whose serious and 
 contemplative spirit was naturally attracted 
 by the gloomy and philosophic meditations of 
 Young, set to work to gratify the public desire. 
 In 1769 appeared the Nuits d'Young^ and in the 
 following year, his (JEuvres diverses. The suc- 
 cess of this work was very great, its reception 
 most cordial, and its influence remarkable, in 
 view of its character and subject. Although 
 followed by a host of other translations more 
 
 1 Les Nuits d' Young, traduites de I'Aiiglois par M. Le 
 Tourneur, Paris, 1769, 2 vols. 
 
 The JVuits were sold for 20 louis (gold) to Mme. Ducronfi, 
 ■who made 60,000 livres out of the transaction. — Guriosites 
 Bibliographiques, L. Lalanne, Paris, 1845, p. 358. 
 
48 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 or less complete, it remained the most popular, 
 the most widely known, and was the standard 
 translation of Edward Young as long as he was 
 read in France. 
 
 The translation was preceded by a curious and 
 interesting Diseours preliminaire of some sixty 
 pages, in which Le Tourneur relates the life of 
 Young, enlarges upon his virtues as a man and 
 his beauties as a poet, states his own reason for 
 undertaking the work, and explains his method 
 of translation. The modern reader, not greatly 
 interested, perhaps, either in Young's Night 
 Thoughts in English for their own sake, nor in 
 a French translation of them, will yet find pleas- 
 ure in reading this introductory essay, not only 
 for the quaint charm of its old-fashioned, pom- 
 pous style, but also for the revelation of the naive 
 and earnest spirit of the author and the literary 
 methods of the eighteenth century. 
 
 Le Tourneur was happily endowed with one 
 of the qualities most necessary in a pioneer. He 
 believed thoroughly in the value of his work; 
 an enthusiastic hero-worship of whatever author 
 he happened to be translating at the time is 
 characteristic of all his critical prefaces, and is 
 so contagious as to communicate itself, in some 
 
THE ENGLISH SCHOOL OF MELANCHOLY 49 
 
 degree, to the reader, almost before he is aware. 
 The opening sentences of this Discours are no 
 exception to the rule : 
 
 " Si Edward Young n'eut ete qu'un habile 
 theologien d'Angleterre, sa vie interesseroit peu 
 la posterite. Le merite du docteur est ignore 
 de I'Europe et deja oublie, dans sa patrie ; mais 
 le grand poete, I'ecrivain original est sHr d'ac- 
 compagner a I'immortalite les Swift, les Shaftes- 
 bury, les Pope, les Addison, les Richardson dont 
 il f ut ou I'ami ou I'associe litteraire. II eut part 
 au celebre ouvrage du Spectateur. II a survecu 
 le dernier de ce groupe d'auteurs fameux qui 
 ont illustre I'Angleterre et le commencement de 
 notre siecle. Young eut moins de gout que ces 
 ecrivains, mais on diroit qu'il dedaigna d'en 
 avoir. Ennemi jusqu'a I'exces de tout ce qui 
 sentoit I'imitation, il abandonna son imagination 
 a elle-meme. Ne pour etre original, il a voulu 
 I'etre, et remplir une tache qui lui fut propre. 
 Quittant les routes ordinaires, c'est au milieu 
 des tombeaux qu'il est alle batir le monument 
 de son immortalite. C'etoit le placer dans des 
 lieux ou il avoit le moins a craindre de se voir 
 suivi par des rivaux. Mais quand le meme 
 gout et la meme douleur y entraineroient 
 
60 PIERRE LB TOURNEUR 
 
 d'autres, ils verroient bientot, que s'il est aise 
 d'y batir avec plus de regularite, il ne Test pas 
 d'atteiadre a la meme hauteur. Le poeme des 
 Nuits ou Complaintes, presente des defauts 
 nombreux qu'il est presque aussi facile d'eviter 
 que d'apercevoir; mais ce n'en est pas moins la 
 plus sublime elegie qui ait jamais ete faite sur les 
 miseres de la condition humaine, et le plus hardi 
 monument ou les grandes beautes de la poesie 
 brillent unies aux grandes verites de la morale 
 et de la religion. II est impossible de lire cet 
 ouvrage, unique dans son genre, sans desirer de 
 connoitre plus particulierement le caractere et 
 les principaux details de la vie d'un homme si 
 singulier pour ceux memes que leur gout porte 
 a la retraite, a plus forte raison pour les lecteurs 
 ordinaires et ceux qui passent leur vie sans 
 reflechir." 
 
 After this introduction, which in spite of its 
 grandiloquent expressions wins the interest and 
 indulgence of the reader by its tone of sincerity 
 and appreciation, Le Tourneur proceeds to give 
 a fairly correct outline of Young's life. The 
 material for this biographical sketch was drawn 
 from an article on Young in the Monthly Review ^ 
 1 Monthly Beview, 1767, pp. 40-46. 
 
THE ENGLISH SCHOOL OF MELANCHOLY 51 
 
 for 1767, which was reprinted from one in 
 the Biographia Britannica^ of the previous 
 year. This account of the life of Young is 
 very characteristic of Le Tourneur's treatment 
 of material which he found ready to his hand. 
 Unlike a great genius, he does not assimilate 
 and fuse it in the white heat of his own inven- 
 tion until it emerges from his mind again in a 
 new and different form. Neither does he trans- 
 late carefully and accurately with that scrupu- 
 lous regard for the text which is one of the 
 articles of faith in modern scholarship. He does 
 indeed follow closely his English original as to 
 general plan and outline. Sometimes he trans- 
 lates almost word for word, many times he 
 paraphrases a sentence or omits a phrase, and 
 continually he adds little touches of his own, 
 apparently for the sake of embellishing the orig- 
 inal. A single example will make this clear : 
 
 " Previous to his decease," says the Monthly 
 Review, "he ordered all his Ms. to be com- 
 
 1 Biographia Britannica, 1766, Vol. VI. Part II. Ap- 
 pendix. Le Tourneur probably had access to both sources 
 of information, for he gives the occasion of the composition 
 of "The Resignation," which is omitted in the Monthly 
 Beview. He may have seen also the Gentleman^ s Magazine 
 for 1766, which contains the same article with corrections. 
 
52 PIERRE LE TOURNEDE 
 
 mitted to the flames. Those who knew how 
 much he expressed in a small compass, and that 
 he never wrote on trivial subjects, will perhaps 
 lament both the modesty and irreparable loss to 
 posterity." 
 
 From Le Tourneur the reader may be sur- 
 prised and interested to learn that: 
 
 " Ce ne fut pas pour se venger de I'oubli des 
 hommes, mais par I'indifference qu'un mourant 
 doit sentir pour leur estime, qu' Young fit jeter 
 au feu tons ses manusciits lorsqu'il vit sa mort 
 decidee." 
 
 This adorning of the raw material was evidently 
 intended to make Young stand forth in the most 
 favorable light, and the enthusiastic Le Tour- 
 neur seems to believe himself gifted with the 
 power of penetrating the inmost recesses of his 
 hero's heart, for he makes absolute statements 
 like the above, and reveals secret motives which 
 he could have had no means of knowing, with an 
 assurance and implicit faith in his own state- 
 ments which is almost convincing from its very 
 audacity. This method of procedure is char- 
 acteristic, to a greater or less extent, of all Le 
 Tourneur's work as a translator, and the per- 
 sonal equation must be reckoned as a very im- 
 
THE ENGLISH SCHOOL OF MELANCHOLY 53 
 
 portant factor in any judgment of him. Every 
 author whose works he undertakes to translate 
 is to him a hero, a newly discovered friend to 
 admire and revere, to be presented with all pos- 
 sible heralding of virtues to a public waiting 
 eagerly for the honor of an introduction. So, 
 in this life of Edward Young, Le Tourneur is, 
 throughout, delightfully and refreshingly en- 
 thusiastic, and the gloomy, discontented Eng- 
 lishman is presented in the guise of a hero and 
 a saint, with all the power of Le Tourneur's 
 bombastic periods. He compares him to Pascal, 
 in energy and depth, and declares that their 
 ideas are of the same order.^ 
 
 All this enthusiasm, however, does not blind 
 him to the faults of the Night Thoughts, 
 which he discusses at length both in regard to 
 their beauties and their defects. They were 
 written, he says, at haphazard. Young noted 
 down his thoughts and impressions just as they 
 came to him without troubling himself to avoid 
 repetition or to bring order out of chaos. Never- 
 
 1 " Pascal est celui de nos auteurs dont le g^nie me paroit 
 avoir eu le plus de rapport avec celui d'Young pour I'^nergie, 
 la profondeur, les id^es du mgme ordre et le mime tour 
 d'imagiuatiou." 
 
64 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 theless, this poem has great beauties, and here 
 Le Tourneur becomes lost in admiration for the 
 space of several paragraphs. Suddenly, how- 
 ever, he pulls himself up short, soliloquizing 
 aloud for the benefit of the reader : 
 
 " Comme je n'ai pas acquis le droit d'avoir 
 pour les miens (lecteurs) cette espece d'insou- 
 ciance, il est tems que je finisse des reflexions 
 qu'ils feront tres bien sans moi, pour les prevenir 
 sur les libert6s que j'ai prises sur cette traduc- 
 tion. Ce sont les defauts que j'ai cru remarquer 
 dans I'ouvrage qui m'y ont autoris6." 
 
 The first of these defects is that of repetition, 
 often useless and wearisome. All such pas- 
 sages Le Tourneur omits from his translation, 
 together with all irrelevant matter which seems 
 to him bizarre, trivial, or poor, and lines treating 
 only of theology and the doctrine of revelation; 
 but he honorably prints them in the form of 
 notes, at the end of each JVuit, so that nothing 
 shall be really lost. His first " liberty," then, 
 is the omission of certain passages. For this he 
 has ah excellent excuse : 
 
 " Mon intention a ete de tirer de I'Young 
 anglois, un Young fran9ois, qui put plaire a ma 
 nation et qu'on put lire avec interet sans songer 
 
THE ENGLISH SCHOOL OF MELANCHOLY 55 
 
 s'il est original ou copie. II me semble que 
 c'est la methode qu'on devroit suivre en tradui- 
 sant les auteurs des langues etrangeres, qui, 
 avec un merits superieur, ne sont pas des mo- 
 deles de gout. Par la, tout ce qu'il y a de bon 
 chez nos voisins nous deviendroit propre, et 
 nous laisserions le mauvais que nous n'avons 
 aucun besoin de lire ni de connoitre. Ce n'est 
 cependant point I'extrait ni Yesprit d'Young, 
 mais la traduction entiere des Nuits que je 
 donne ici." 
 
 The reader who may begin to wonder at this 
 point what Le Tourneur's idea of a complete 
 translation is, has only to listen patiently and, 
 if he be a modern scholar, with as much tol- 
 erance as in him lies. The second defect is lack 
 of order. This is a fault so serious that Le 
 Tourneur cannot hope to remedy it entirely; 
 he will at least do his best to diminish it. 
 Young, he complains, did not make of each 
 JVight a unit. One subject is not consistently 
 developed in each division of the poem, but 
 is often touched upon in one place, taken up 
 again in another, and sometimes distributed 
 over the whole nine Nights. Such dissipation 
 of ideas, although very natural to one writ- 
 
56 PIERRE LB TOURNEUR 
 
 ing in an ecstaoy of grief, is abhorrent to the 
 logical and order-loving mind of the French 
 translator. It is fatal to the interest of the 
 work, where attention is apt to flag because of 
 the very seriousness of the subject. Further- 
 more, it destroys in each Night the charm of 
 variety, the first source of which lies in the 
 novelty of the subjects presented. In short, 
 such disorder in the arrangement of ideas is a 
 piece of carelessness on the part of the English 
 poet, which he would undoubtedly have remedied 
 if he had had the requisite calm and leisure. 
 Le Tourneur, who generously judges him, not 
 iipon what he did, but upon what he might have 
 done, will make the correction for him. His 
 first liberty with his text is omission, his second 
 is rearrangement. 
 
 " J'ai done regarde cette premiere traduction," 
 he says, " comme un architecte feroit I'amas des 
 materiaux d'un edifice, tallies et tout prets a 
 placer, mais entasses, au hasard dans huit ou 
 neuf places differentes et meles dans les d6- 
 combres. J'ai assemble, assorti de mon mieux, 
 sous un titre commun, tous les fragmens qui 
 pourroient s'y rapporter et former une espece 
 d'ensemble. La meme raison m'a fait multiplier 
 
THE ENGLISH SCHOOL OF MELANCHOLY 57 
 
 ces litres, et des neuf Nuits de I'original, j'en 
 ai forme vingt-quatre." 
 
 The nine Night Thoughts of Edward Young 
 transformed into twenty-four Nuits! Such a 
 " bouleversement " of the original text might 
 well fill even the audacious Le Tourneur with 
 dismay. But he has only one fear, that of pos- 
 sibly having interfered with the " sublime dis- 
 order of grief and genius." He is reassured, 
 however, by the iirm conviction that he has 
 done well.^ 
 
 The astonished reader, who may well be ask- 
 ing what sort of a translation is to be expected 
 from one who takes such unprecedented liberties 
 with his author, may also be reassured. Le 
 Tourneur is nothing if not conscientious, and he 
 will explain his method with the greatest care. 
 
 " Au reste, j'ai tache de traduire aussi literale- 
 ment que j'ai pu, a raison de mon talent et de 
 la difference du genie des deux langues." So 
 far, so good, and the critic breathes a sigh of 
 relief. But there is more to follow. " Quand 
 
 i"Je me flatte de n'avoir pas profang ces Claris de 
 I'enthousiasme, ces mouvements de I'ame, cette succession 
 rapide et tumultiieuse des transports d'une Sme agit^e 
 qui s'flance et bondit d'id^es en id^es, de sentimens en 
 sentimens." 
 
58 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 il m'est venu quelque idee qui pourroit servir 
 
 de liaison aux autres, quelque epithete qui com- 
 
 pletoit une image, la rendoit plus lumineuse, ou 
 
 donnoit plus d'harmonie au style, j'ai cru que 
 
 c'etoit mon droit de I'employer. S'il etoit vrai 
 
 que j'eusse quelquefois embelli I'original, ce 
 
 seroit une bonne fortune dont je lui rends tout 
 
 I'honneur. Je ne la devrois qu'au sentiment 
 
 dont il me penetroit. Quand notre langue re- 
 
 sistoit a I'expression angloise, j'ai traduit I'idee ; 
 
 et quand I'idee conservoit encore un air trop 
 
 etranger aux notres, j'ai traduit le sentiment. 
 
 Pour me faire mieux entendre, j'en citerai un 
 
 exemple. A la fin des notes de la quatrieme 
 
 Nuit, on lit : ' Le souvenir de la mort de ^ar- 
 
 cisse fait rebrousser les pensees les plus joyeuses 
 
 de I'age le plus gai droit a la vall6e des morts.' ^ 
 
 Voila le mot a mot de I'anglois. Laissant 
 
 cette idee trop sauvage pour nous, j'y ai sub- 
 
 stitue I'idee qu'elle faisoit naitre. 'Le jeune 
 
 homme, dans la fougue de I'age et des plaisirs, 
 
 suspendra sa joie pour s'attendrir sur ton sort ; 
 
 il ira melancolique et pensif rever a toi au milieu 
 
 des tombeaux.' " 
 
 1 " And turn the gayest thought of gayest age 
 
 Down their right channel, through the vale of death." 
 
 III. 253-254. 
 
THE ENGLISH SCHOOL OF MELANCHOLY 59 
 
 From all this it will be readily seen that no 
 complete and accurate translation of the Night 
 Thoughts of Edward Young is to be expected. 
 Le Tourneur's work, indeed, can hardly be called 
 a translation at all, in the modern acceptation of 
 the word. It is, rather, a very skilful and in- 
 genious arrangement and adaptation, an inter- 
 pretation rather than a translation. It has 
 seemed worth while to dwell thus at length 
 and in detail upon this Introduction, for it not 
 only reveals clearly and exactly Le Tourneur's 
 individual methods of literary work, but also 
 expresses the general eighteenth-century ideal 
 of what a scholarly translation should be.^ It 
 is clear, too, that the Nuits d' Young cannot be 
 judged by the standard of an ordinary modern 
 translation, but must be considered as a genre 
 quite apart, and a different criterion of criticism 
 should accordingly be applied to it. 
 
 To the student of the Nuits, who strives to 
 discover from which of Young's Nights Le Tour- 
 neur gathered the material for any one of his 
 Nuits, it seems that the labor of the self-styled 
 
 1 Cf. D'Alemtert, Melanges de Litterature, d'Sistoire et 
 de Philosophie, Amsterdam, 1769, Vol. III. Observations 
 sur Part de traduire en ggn^ral, etc. 
 
60 PIEKRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 translator must have been endless. In the 
 whole twenty -four, only one title is identical 
 with one of Young's nine, JVaroisse,^ and the 
 immense task of going through the English 
 poem and picking out here and there, lines on 
 friendship, on immortality, etc., to form separate 
 essays, which are then to be welded into one 
 harmonious and connected whole, makes the 
 reader fairly gasp with amazement at the in- 
 finite patience and time required for such a 
 labor. The work is, besides, more than a mere 
 editing of selections chosen for their continuity 
 or appropriateness. Interwoven in the very 
 
 1 Young's nine Nights are as follows : (1) On Life, Death, 
 and Immortality. (2) On Time, Death, and Friendship. 
 (3) Narcissa. (4) The Christian Triumph. (5) (6) and 
 (7) The Infidel Reclaimed. (8) Virtue's Apology. (9) The 
 Consolation. 
 
 Le Tourneur's subjects include: (1) Misferes de 1' Hu- 
 manity. (2) L'Amiti^. (3) Le Temps. (4) Narcisse. 
 (5) Le Remade contre la Crainte de la Mort. (6) L'Oubli 
 de la Mort. (7) Le Caract6re de la Mort. (8) (9) 
 (10) L' Immortality. (11) L'An^antissemeut. (12) Les 
 Avautages de la Nuit et de la Solitude. (13) La Tristesse 
 etle Malheur. (14) Grandeur de I'Ame. (15) Le Monde. 
 (16) Le Plaisir et le Suicide. (17) Le Bel Esprit. (18) La 
 Conscience. (19) La Vertu. (20) L'Existence de Dieu et 
 des Esprits. (21) Plurality des Mondes. (22) Vue morale 
 des Cieux. (23) Hymne k l';fcternel. (24) La Consolation. 
 
THE ENGLISH SCHOOL OF MELANCHOLY 61 
 
 warp and woof of the whole fabric are Le 
 Tourneur's own thoughts and ideas, so inex- 
 tricably tangled in the meshes of Young's sen- 
 timents as to be often almost indistinguishable 
 from them. He seems to have been so familiar 
 with the English author, so imbued with his 
 thought and so filled with his spirit, that he 
 caught the very essence of his inspiration and 
 spoke his language as easily as his own. He 
 gives often not even a paraphrase, but an echo, 
 a thought of his own suggested by Young. It 
 is, indeed, no longer Edward Young the Eng- 
 lish poet, whom Le Tourneur presents, but a 
 " Young fran§ais " who did, as his translator 
 hoped, find a place for himself in the litera- 
 ture of France. 
 
 Considered, then, as an interpreter, an imi- 
 tator, a critical editor of Young, and recogniz- 
 ing what he aimed to do — to omit irrelevant 
 and uninteresting passages, to avoid repetition, 
 to make an orderly arrangement in twenty- 
 four divisions of the thoughts scattered through- 
 out Young's nine Nights, to translate literally 
 wherever possible, to embellish or paraphrase 
 the original at will, — in short, to introduce 
 a French Young, acceptable to the waiting 
 
62 PIEERE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 public, — in view of all this, it must be granted 
 that Le Tourneur did his work faithfully and 
 well. 
 
 The work, on the whole, shows a good deal 
 of originality, skill, and literary discrimina- 
 tion. The general effect is good, the arrange- 
 ment clear, the development logical, and the 
 style agreeable ; and many a modern reader 
 will readily understand why the French in 
 general found the Young Franfais superior to 
 the original. Young's fine lines and passages 
 of really good poetry are, of course, lost in Le 
 Tourneur's rendering, but so are the dreary 
 stretches of rhetoric and the arid wastes of 
 repetition. On the other hand, something is 
 gained by the logical development of Le Tour- 
 neur's arrangement, and the charm of a clear 
 and quaintly grandiloquent prose. One or two 
 examples will enable the reader to judge for 
 himself. Take first the famous description of 
 Night: 
 
 " Night I sable goddess ! from her ebon throne, 
 In rayless majesty now stretches forth 
 Her leaden sceptre o'er a slumb'ring world. 
 Silence, how dead ! and darkness, how profound I 
 Nor eye nor listening ear an object finds. 
 Creation sleeps I 'Tis as the general pulse 
 
THE ENGLISH SCHOOL OP MELANCHOLY 63 
 
 Of life stood still, and Nature made a pause; 
 An awful pause I prophetic of her end. 
 And let her prophecy be soon fulfill'd ; 
 Fate 1 drop the curtain : I can lose no more." * 
 
 " Maintenant arrivee au milieu de son cercle, 
 assise au haut des airs sur son trSne d'eb^ne, la 
 nuit, comme un Dieu dans una majeste voilee 
 et sans rayons, etend son sceptre de plomb sur 
 un monde assoupi. Quel silence absolu ! quelle 
 obscurite profonde! L'oeil ne voit aucun objet, 
 I'oreille n'entend aucun son. Toute la creation 
 dort, tout paroit mort. II semble que le mouve- 
 ment qui donne la vie k I'univers se soit arrets 
 et que la nature fasse une pause. Repos terrible, 
 image prophetique de la fin du monde ! Qu'elle 
 ne tarde plus ! Destin, hate-toi de tirer le 
 rideau; je ne peux plus perdre." 
 
 Compare with this the still more celebrated 
 
 apostrophe to Death : 
 
 " Death 1 great proprietor of all ! 'tis thine 
 To tread out empire, and to quench the stars. 
 The sun himself by thy permission shines ; 
 And one day thou shalt pluck him from his sphere. 
 Amid such mighty plunder, why exhaust 
 Thy partial quiver on a mark so mean ? 
 Why thy peculiar rancour wreak'd on me ?"° 
 
 1 Works of Edward Young, London, 1765. Mght I. 
 
 2 Night I. 
 
64 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 " O Mort ! souverain proprietaire de tous les 
 etres, il t'appartient d'effacer les empires sous 
 tes pas et d'eteindre les astres. Le soleil lui- 
 meme, tu ne dois le souffrir qu'un terns, dans 
 I'univers; un jour viendra que ton bras le 
 detronant de sa sphere, le precipitera dans la 
 nuit. Ne peux-tu done te contenter de ces 
 grandes victimes ? Pourquoi ta haine s'attache- 
 t-elle a un atome et me choisit-elle pour s'epuiser 
 sur moi ? " 
 
 These two examples represent very fairly the 
 kind of work Le Tourneur did as a translator. 
 Some of the lines are quite carefully and literally 
 rendered, so that it seems as if he could be exact 
 enough when he chose. Fortunately or unfor- 
 tunately, he never chose for any length of time. 
 Even when he pretended to be most exact, he 
 seemed unable to resist the temptation to em- 
 broider his original, to add an epithet, to trans- 
 late a word by a phrase, to expand or to condense. 
 Nevertheless, this method of dealing with a text 
 was highly approved, not only in France, but in 
 England ; ^ and Le Tourneur, no less than his 
 
 1 " Such of our readers as are well acquainted witli the 
 genius of the French language must be very sensible of the 
 difficulty of M. Le Tourneur's undertaking, -which he has 
 executed, however, with great ability. He appears to be a 
 
THE ENGLISH SCHOOL OF MELANCHOLY 66 
 
 Young Frangais, was received with the greatest 
 enthusiasm 
 
 In addition to the Night Thoughts these two 
 volumes contained the Epitre d Voltaire, The 
 Last Judgment, the Paraphrase of Part of the 
 Book ofJoh, a Revue de la Vie, PensSes sur Divers 
 Sujets, Eusebe, and an extract from The Resig- 
 nation, all of the latter poem, in fact, which was 
 not "entirely unworthy of being translated." 
 Here the same method of analysis and synthe- 
 sis in composition is employed. The Epitre a 
 Voltaire is merely a paraphrase of eight of the 
 nine verses composing the Dedication to M. Vol- 
 taire, which preceded the Sea Piece of 1733. 
 The reader of this mediocre selection will he re- 
 paid by one amusing mistake of the translator, 
 who innocently renders Dorset downs by le 
 duvet de Dorset ! 
 
 man of genius, sound judgment, and good taste ; there is 
 something, too, in his turn of thought and in the boldness 
 and energy of his style that renders him peculiarly qualified 
 for such a task as that of translating Dr. Young. 
 
 "What gives frequent disgust to every reader of taste, in 
 the Night Thoughts, is the turning and twisting of the 
 same sentiment into a thousand different shapes. The 
 translator, very judiciously, has taken great liberty with his 
 author in this respect." — Monthly Beview, 1769, Vol. XLI. 
 p. 562. 
 
 F 
 
66 PIERRE LE TOURNEUB 
 
 The fifth letter in The Centaur not Fabulous 
 furnishes the material for the Revue de la Vie 
 and PensSes sur Divers Sujets, while Uusebe, ou 
 le Riohe Vertueux was composed from the third 
 letter. 
 
 The translation of the Last Judgment is a 
 more faithful rendering of the text than that 
 of the Night Thoughts. Le Tourneur contents 
 himself with suppressing a few sentences here 
 and there, and omitting entirely the long para- 
 graph which concludes the third book, and 
 which seems to him an anti-climax after the 
 preceding picture of universal conflagration. 
 The same feeling of dramatic fitness probably 
 prompted him to transfer Job's short and humble 
 interruptions of the Lord's questions, to the end 
 of the Paraphrase. Otherwise the English is 
 followed quite closely, though Young's fine 
 bravado, especially in the famous description 
 of the war-horse, is quite attenuated in Le Tour- 
 neur's elegant and stately prose. ^ 
 
 1 " Survey the warlike horse : didst thou invest 
 With thunder his robust distended chest ? 
 No sense of fear his dauntless soul allays : 
 'Tis dreadful to behold his nostrils blaze : 
 To paw the vale he proudly takes delight 
 And triumphs in the fulness of his might. 
 
THE ENGLISH SCHOOL OF MELANCHOLY 67 
 
 Encouraged by the phenomenal success of 
 the Nuita, Le Tourneur hastened to continue the 
 work, and in 1770 published the (Euvres Di- 
 verges 1 in two volumes. They contained : Estima- 
 tion de la Vie, TraitS des Passions, Lettres Morales 
 sur le Plaisir, and Conjectures sur la Composition 
 Originale, together with the JEpitre d Lord Lans- 
 downe and the tragedies of Busiris and La 
 Vengeance. The long and interesting Preface 
 contained a defense of the poetry of the school of 
 melancholy and a promise on Le Tourneur's part 
 soon to abandon " cemeteries and their mournful 
 yew trees " and to choose works of a more cheer- 
 High raised, he snuffs the battle from afar, 
 And burns to plunge amid the raging war : 
 And mocks at death, and throws his foam around 
 And in a storm of fury shakes the ground." 
 — Paraphrase of Part of the Book of Job, 259-269. 
 
 " Vois le cheval guerrier. As-tu tendu ses muscles, sea 
 flanos robustes ? Son Sme indomptable ne connoit point la 
 crainte. Vois le feu jaillir de ses narines fumantes ; il se 
 plait ^ frapper la terre de son pied superbe, et se r^jouit de 
 sa force. La t§te lev6e, il appelle par ses hennissements les 
 combats floign^s, et brule de se pr^cipiter au milieu du 
 carnage. II se rit du tr^pas, couvre son mors d'dcume, et 
 "dans les transports furieux, il enfonce la terre." 
 
 1 (Euvres Diverses du Docteur Young, traduites de 
 I'Anglois par M. Le Tourneur. Paris, 1770, 2 vols, in 8to 
 (priv. 26iuillet). 
 
68 PIERRE liE TOXJRNEUE 
 
 ful character, unless, he adds naively, " chance 
 should offer me some one very sublime and very 
 melancholy who might make the breaking of my 
 promise pardonable." At this point he takes 
 advantage of the opportunity to mention his 
 proposed translation of Shakespeare which he is 
 ready to undertake if he can be assured of its 
 favorable reception by the public. 
 
 It is interesting to note here that the idea of 
 a scrupulously exact and accurate translation 
 was growing upon Le Tourneur as a desirable 
 possibility, though he never, in his most careful 
 moments, succeeded in living up to it. He is 
 aware, for example, that the omission of seven 
 or eight pages from the Conjectures sur la 
 Composition Originale would be a decided 
 improvement. Nevertheless, he proposes to 
 translate the entire essay, both because he has 
 a sort of respect for the last work of an old 
 man, and because, by seeing all its beauties 
 and defects, the reader will be better enabled 
 to appreciate Young's remarkable imagina- 
 tion. In the case of the tragedies, too, he 
 intends to be strictly literal,^ and this is his 
 
 1 "On a la traduction litt^rale de ses deux pieces. J'ai 
 tacli^ de repr&enter partout dans notre langue la m6me idSe 
 
THE ENGLISH SCHOOL OF MELANCHOLY 69 
 
 excuse for repeating part of the work of La 
 Place.i 
 
 On the whole, Le Tourneur fulfilled his prom- 
 ise to be literal with considerable fidelity, per- 
 haps with as much as lay within his power. ^ 
 
 le meme sentiment, la m§me image, le ni§me tour, le mSme 
 arrangement et toutes ces nuances qu'on n'altfere point sans 
 alt^rer le tout. ... On perd dans ma prose quantity de 
 beaux vers r^pandus dans les Scfenes que M. de la Place 
 avoit orn^es de rimes. Mais on y yoit mieux I'original, on 
 J entend les personnages, leurs vrais sentimens, de quelle 
 manifere et dans quel ordre ils les ont exprim^s." 
 1 Le Theatre Anglois, Paris, 1745. 
 
 " " This vast and solid earth, that blazing sun. 
 
 Those skies through which it rolls, must all have end. 
 
 What then, is man ? the smallest part of nothing. 
 
 Day buries day ; month, month ; and year, the year. 
 
 Our life is but a chain of many deaths. 
 
 Can then, Death's self be feared ? Our life much rather. 
 
 Life is the desert, life the solitude ; 
 
 Death joins us to the great majority ; 
 
 'Tis to be born to Platos and to Csesar, 
 
 'Tis to be great for ever ; 
 
 'Tis pleasure, 'tis ambition then, to die." 
 
 — The Bevenge, Act IV. Scene 4. 
 
 " Cette terre si vaste et si solide, ce Soleil felatant, ce 
 firmament au travers duquel il roule, tous ces grands §tres 
 doivent finir. Qu'est-ce done que I'homme ? La plus frgle 
 parcelle du n^ant. Un jour sucofede k 1' autre, le mois 
 remplace le mois, I'ann^e engloutit I'ann^e ; notre vie n'est 
 qu'une chalne continue de mille morts. Qu'a done la mort 
 en elle-mgme de redoutable ? C'est la vie qui est bien plus k, 
 
70 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 The only important changes he made in the 
 text were conscientiously noted in the Preface. 
 He shortened Young's long True Estimation 
 of Human Life by making a separate division 
 of the description of the passions under the 
 title Traits des Passions, to which he adds, 
 as introduction, the preface to the whole essay. 
 The Lettres Morales consist of those portions 
 of the first four letters of The Centaur not 
 Fabulous, not already used in the manufacture 
 of Husebe and dovetailed skilfully together. 
 With the exception of these changes, his prose 
 rendering is generally accurate as to sense, if it 
 does not always follow the word. The trans- 
 lator simply reserves to himself the inalienable 
 right to omit a word here, soften a phrase there, 
 add an occasional adjective or adverb. 
 
 Edward Young and his interpreter, Pierre 
 Le Tourneur, were received in France with the 
 greatest enthusiasm. By September, 1769, the 
 third edition ^ of their work appeared, and there 
 
 oraindre. C'est la vie, c'est ce monde qui est un d&ert, 
 une vraie solitude, la mort nous r6unit k la foule nombreuse 
 du genre humain. Mourir, c'est renaitre au milieu des 
 Platons et des Cfears : c'est 6pouser une grandeur ^ternelle, 
 mourir est done un plaisir, une gloire digne de notre 
 ambition." 
 
 1 Mercure de France, September, 1769. 
 
THE ENGLISH SCHOOL OF MELANCHOLY 71 
 
 were fifteen within the next six years. They 
 took Paris by storm and captivated almost the 
 entire reading public. 
 
 " Monsieur Le Tourneur marche toujours a 
 c8te de son modele lorsqu'il s'eleve," says Fr6ron, 
 in the AnnSe LittSraire, " le corrige lorsqu'il 
 s'etend dans des lieux communs ou des repeti- 
 tions, substitue des idees et des images a celles 
 qui ne peuvent Stre traduites ou qui n'auroient 
 aucune gr&ce dans notre langue." ^ 
 
 La Harpe, in a letter to M. de la Borde, pub- 
 lished in the Mercure, did not consider Young a 
 great poet, but had only praise for his inter- 
 preter. 
 
 " Quoiqu'il en soit. Monsieur, je suis charme 
 que cet ouvrage ait commence la reputation que 
 M. Le Tourneur paroit devoir acquerir un jour. 
 II admire beaucoup Young, mais je suis persuade 
 qu'il fera mieux que lui. Corneille admiroit 
 Lucain, et il I'a bien surpasse. ... II conserve 
 toujours la couleur de son original, meme en 
 changeant quelquefois son dessein . . . quand 
 il prend la place d'Young, il est au moins son 
 egal." 2 
 
 1 Annee Litteraire, November, 1769. 
 
 2 Mercure de France, September, 1769. 
 
72 PIEEEE LE TOUENEUE 
 
 Voltaire, who, less than ten years later, was to 
 wage relentless war upon Le Tourneur, wrote 
 him cordially from Ferney, June 7, 1769 : " II 
 me semble que le Traducteur a plus de gout que 
 I'auteur. Vous avez mis autant d'ordre que 
 Tous avez pu dans ce ramas de lieux communs, 
 ampoules et obscurs." 
 
 Grimm, one of the few to protest against the 
 gloom of the English poet, was roundly taken 
 to task by Diderot : 
 
 " Monsieur le maitre de la boutique du Houx 
 toujours vert, vous retractez-vous quelquefois ? 
 Eh bien ! en voici une belle occasion. Dites, 
 s'il vous plait, a toutes vos augustes pratiques, 
 que c'est tres mal a propos que vous avez attri- 
 bue I'incognito a la traduction des Nuits d' Young 
 par M. Le Tourneur. Dites, sur ma parole, 
 que cette traduction, pleine d'harmonie et de 
 la plus grande richesse d'expression, une des 
 plus difSciles a faire en toute langue, est 
 une des mieux faites dans la nfitre. L'edition 
 en a ete epuis6e en quatre mois, et Ton tra- 
 vaille a la seconde; dites encore cela, car 
 cela est vrai. Ajoutez qu'elle a ete lue par 
 nos petits-maitres et nos petites-maitresses, et 
 que ce n'est pas sans un merite rare qu'on 
 
THE ENGLISH SCHOOL OE MELANCHOLY 73 
 
 fait lire des jeremiades a un peuple frivole et 
 gai." 1 
 
 A complete change seemed to have taken place 
 in literary taste. The Young Franpais became 
 the fashion of the hour. Editions of Le Tour- 
 neur multiplied with astonishing rapidity, and 
 his translation was reprinted as late as 1842.2 
 Imitators and other translators followed quickly 
 in Le Tourneur's footsteps ; Les Nuits Pari- 
 siennes, Les Nuits Angloises, and finally a parody, 
 Les Jours,^ testified to the widespread popularity 
 of the work. Still it was Le Tourneur and his 
 method of interpretation that received the lion's 
 share of praise;* his work remained the standard 
 
 1 Oorrespondance Utteraire, phUosophique et critique, par 
 Grimm, Diderot, etc., ed. Tourneux, Paris, 1879, Vol. IX. 
 p. 46. 
 
 2 Christian, Paris, 1842. Les Nuits d' Toung, suivies des 
 Tombeaixx d'Hervey. Traduction de P. Le Tourneur, revue, 
 et prdc^d^e d'un Essai sur le Jobisme. 
 
 ' Les Jours, pour servir de correctif et de supplement aux 
 Nuits t?' Toung, par un Mousquetaire Noir, Paris, 1770. 
 
 * " Les Nuits de M. Le Tourneur ont sans doute le merits 
 Incontestable d'gtre bien ferites et de surpasser m§me quel- 
 quefois I'original. S'il ne peut plus gtre regard^ oomme le 
 traducteur fidfele de cet ouvrage, un titre plus distingue lui 
 appartient." — Satyres d' Toung, ou, V Amour de la Benom- 
 mee, passion universelle. Traductions libres de I'Anglois, 
 par M. Bertin, Paris, 1767. 
 
74 PIEEEE LE TOTJENEUR 
 
 translation of the English poet and the medium 
 through which he was known to France. 
 
 It is easy to find fault with Le Tourneur's 
 work as a translation and to criticize it with ex- 
 ceeding severity. The modern scholar, accus- 
 tomed to methods of accuracy, exactness, and a 
 scrupulous fidelity to the text, is tempted to 
 accuse him of lack of initiative and literary 
 frankness, and to inquire scornfully why he did 
 not edit such portions of Young as might have 
 seemed suitable, instead of thus refashioning 
 him. It is possible, however, that Le Tourneur 
 was neither so dull nor so timid as he may ap- 
 pear from the distant viewpoint of the twenti- 
 eth century ; it is possible, moreover, that, living 
 in the eighteenth century, he was better able to 
 appreciate its needs and desires than we, with 
 all the accumulated knowledge of more than a 
 hundred years ; that he was keen-sighted enough 
 to realize the literary situation, and bold enough 
 to introduce as great an innovation as was pos- 
 sible to a nation conservative in temperament, 
 
 "Le traducteur ajouta, retraneha, embellit I'cBuvre de 
 son auteur et grSoe ^ cette trop rare infidflite, la copie de ce 
 lugubre et ^nergique tableau fut pr6f^r6e k I'original." — 
 Montpellier, Tableau historique et descriptif, etc., par E. 
 Thomas, Montpellier, 1853, p. 154. 
 
THE ENGLISH SCHOOL OF MELANCHOLY 75 
 
 taste, and training. Whether Young, in his 
 own original form, -would have been appreci- 
 ated or even received in France, must ever re- 
 main an open question. 
 
 But however Le Tourneur's interpretation of 
 Young may be regarded for its intrinsic value, it 
 marks an important point in the history of liter- 
 ature. To Le Tourneur belongs the honor of 
 introducing Young to France. His translation 
 became a classic of the poetry of melancholy, 
 and through his interpretation the English poet 
 exercised a considerable influence upon French 
 literature. It was the favorite reading of Robes- 
 pierre ; Camille Desmoulins read it the evening 
 before his death, thereby bringing upon himself 
 Westermann's pleasantry, " Tu veux done raou- 
 rir deux fois ? " ^ Mme. de Stael knew and ap- 
 preciated Young, and there are echoes of his 
 philosophic melancholy in Qorinne and her trag- 
 edy, Jane Q-ray, and later, Chateaubriand showed 
 the same influence in RenS and Atala. But with 
 the nineteenth century came the inevitable re- 
 action from a surfeit of melancholy, and with 
 the single exception of Lamartine, several of 
 
 1 J. Texte, J.- J. Sousseau et Us Origines du Cosmo- 
 poUtisme Litteraire, Paris, 1895, p. 381. 
 
78 PIERRE LE TOURNEUE 
 
 whose Meditations bear witness to a profound 
 study of the Night Thoughts, Young was less and 
 less read, until he became merely a name.-'^ 
 
 The influence of Le Tourneur's Young Fran- 
 gais was not confined to France. It was trans- 
 lated into Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese. In 
 Italy, the Sepolchri of Ugo Foscolo, the poetry 
 of Pindemonte and Leopardi are striking exam- 
 ples of the strength and persistence of Young's 
 personality, seen through translations of a trans- 
 lation. In Germany, meantime, Young had be- 
 come known as early as 1751 by the admirable 
 and scholarly translations of Ebert, and the poet 
 himself had created as great a sensation as in 
 France, but without the necessary mediation of 
 change of dress and speech.^ 
 
 Young, however, was not the only poet of 
 melancholy who entered France. The keen- 
 sighted Le Tourneur, seeing that a delight 
 in sadness was rapidly and easily acquired by 
 the public, hastened to gratify this new taste, 
 and in 1770, while the literary world was still 
 
 1 For the influence of Young in France and Italy, see Le 
 Poete Edward Toimg, par W. Thomas, Paris, 1901 ; also J. 
 Texte, Bousseau et le OosmopoUtisme Litteraire, Paris, 1895. 
 
 2 For Young in Germany see Thomas, and also Edward 
 Young in Germany, by John Kind, New York, 1906. 
 
THE ENGLISH SCHOOL OF MELANCHOLY 77 
 
 at a white heat of enthusiasm over the Night 
 Thoughts, brought out the translation of an- 
 other work of a somewhat similar character, 
 Hervey's Meditations on the Tomhs} This was 
 a religious work in two volumes (1747) : the 
 first containing the Meditations and Contempla- 
 tions among the Tomhs, Reflections on a Flower 
 Garden, andJ. Discant on Creation; the second, 
 Contemplations on the Night, Contemplations on 
 the Starry Heavens, and A Winter Piece. 
 Hervey ^ was a great admirer and imitator of 
 Young, and his writings are full of the same 
 melancholy reflections upon death and the life 
 to come, but his grief is not so poignant and 
 his sadness is more gentle. His life, like his 
 character, was simple, unaffected, unselfish; 
 his Meditations are artificial, complex, self- 
 conscious essays, in which a vast number of 
 truisms are set forth in stilted phrases, thickly 
 interspersed with quotations from the Bible 
 and from Young's Night Thoughts. If Hervey 
 had been content to write as simply as he talked 
 
 1 Meditations d^ Hervey, traduites de I'Anglois, par M. Le 
 Tourneur, Paris, 1770. 
 
 ''James Hervey (1721-1775). His best-known work is 
 Dialogues between Theron and Aspasia (1755), wliich drew 
 down on iiim the wrath of John Wesley. 
 
78 PIERRE LE TOUUNEUR 
 
 and lived, many of his descriptions would be 
 pleasant reading ; but he had, at least, the merit 
 of a sincere love for nature, which was suffi- 
 ciently rare in the artificial eighteenth century. 
 Le Tourneur, who in gentleness and serious 
 unaffectedness of character was akin to Hervey, 
 give^ a detailed and sympathetic account of the 
 life of the English curate in the preface to the 
 Meditations, the materials for which he drew 
 largely from Hervey's Letters. He is so im- 
 pressed with the beauty and simplicity of Her- 
 vey's life that he wishes it to become known 
 to the curates of his own country as an ex- 
 ample worthy of imitation. It is for them 
 especially that he has made this translation, 
 and, therefore, for their edification he has 
 retained details which he would otherwise have 
 omitted. Here Le Tourneur pauses to make a 
 confession. When he 'first opened the Medita- 
 tions, he says, and saw that they had already 
 reached the fifteenth edition, he believed that 
 he had found a masterpiece of literature that 
 would prove to surpass even the Night Thoughts 
 of Young, which, at the time of his translation, 
 had reached only the fourth. But he was 
 doomed to disappointment. " Je reconnus," 
 
THE ENGLISH SCHOOL OE MELANCHOLY 79 
 
 he says naively, " que le grand nombre des 
 Editions est encore une regie bien incertaine 
 pour apprecier le merite reel d'un Ouvrage, et 
 qu'il est mille hasards dans la reputation et les 
 succes." 
 
 Nevertheless, after the first shock of surprise 
 at finding only an imitator v?here he had looked 
 for an original genius, he takes fresh courage. 
 He realizes that his author has, after all, imagi- 
 nation, feeling, and energy.^ 
 
 In the matter of translation, Le Tourneur 
 pursues much the same method as in his inter- 
 pretation of Young. He greatly abridges the 
 Meditations, omitting passages directly imitated 
 from the Night Thoughts, and those of a purely 
 devout nature, as vrell as most of the quota- 
 tions and paraphrases of the Bible. Why re- 
 print, he asks, a number of commonplace 
 statements v^hich have already been uttered 
 in a more pleasing manner by Young? As for 
 the Bible passages, he says proudly, " Nous pos- 
 sedons chez nous assez de livres edifians et 
 pieux, sans avoir besoin d'en emprunter des 
 
 1 " Ses Tombeaux respirent une sensibility douce qui vous 
 p^nfetre et- vous attendrit par degr^s. De tems en terns 11 
 lui 6ohappe des moments et des traits sublimes." 
 
80 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 Nations Protestantes, et si I'Ouvrage n'eut eu 
 que ce m^rite, il n'eut pas rempli mon objet. 
 ... II faut souvent rendre aux Anglois le ser- 
 vice de chatier leur abondance : les pertes les 
 enrichissent et la traduction devient souvent 
 pour leurs Ouvrages un miroir qui recueille 
 et concentre dans un foyer brulant mille traits 
 de lumiere qui, auparavant disperses et enve- 
 loppes de nuages, restoient sans chaleur et sans 
 effet." Thus fortified in his method by the 
 above excellent reasons, Le Tourneur is about 
 to advance to the translation, but pauses again, 
 unable to resist a final remark of self -justifica- 
 tion. He fears that, perhaps, after all, persons 
 of a very scrupulous taste may think that he 
 has not been severe enough in his omissions. 
 To these, if there be any such, he replies gener- 
 ously, "je ne devois pas non plus detruire le 
 plan de I'original et aneantir en entier des re- 
 flexions qui sont le but principal de I'auteur, et 
 qui dans la suite de ses tableaux peuvent servir 
 de liaisons ou de repos." 
 
 The Meditations among the Tombs are said to 
 have been inspired by a journey made by Her- 
 vey to Kilkhampton from Bideford, while he 
 was curate there. The scene, however, is laid 
 
THE ENGLISH SCHOOL OF MELANCHOLY 81 
 
 in Cornwall, this change having been made, says 
 Hervey, in order " that Imagination might oper- 
 ate more freely and the Improvement of the 
 Reader be consulted without anything that 
 should look like a variation from Truth and 
 Fact."i Detained for some hours in a country 
 village, the author went for a walk, in the course 
 of which he passed by the church. " The doors, 
 like the Heaven to which they lead, were wide 
 open, and readily admitted an unworthy Stran- 
 ger. Pleased with the Opportunity, I resolved 
 to spend a few minutes under the sacred Roof. 
 In a situation so retired and awful, I could not 
 resist falling into a Train of Meditations serious 
 and mournfully pleasing." Then, as Hervey 
 moves from tomb to tomb upon the " lettered 
 floor," he gives expression to the thoughts that 
 come to him, on death, the uncertainty of human 
 life, the state of the righteous and the wicked, 
 etc., which he embodies in the form of a letter 
 to a lady. The first tomb to attract his attention 
 is that of an infant, and his reflections thereupon 
 and Le Tourneur's rendering are very charac- 
 teristic of both authors. 
 
 1 Meditations and Contemplations, by James Hervey, 
 15th edition, London, 1759, 2 vols. 
 
 G 
 
82 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 "Yonder iphite stone, Emblem of the Innocence 
 it covers, informs the Beholder of One, who 
 breath'd out its tender Soul, almost in the instant 
 of receiving it. . . . There, the peaceful Infant, 
 without so much as knowing what Labour and 
 Vexation mean, ' lies still and is quiet, it sleeps 
 and is at Rest.' ^ Staying only to wash away its 
 native impurity in the Laver of Regeneration, 
 it bid a speedy Adieu to Time and Terrestrial 
 Things. . . . What did the little hasty Sojourner 
 find, so forbidding and disgustful in our upper 
 World, to occasion its precipitant exit? . . . 
 And did our new-come Stranger begin to sip 
 the cup of Life; but perceiving the bitterness, 
 turn away its Head, and refuse the Draught? 
 Was this the cause, why the wary Babe only 
 opened its Eyes, just looked on the Light, and 
 then withdrew into the more inviting regions of 
 undisturbed Repose? 
 
 " Happy Voyager ! No sooner launched than 
 arrived at the Haven ! But more eminently 
 happy they who have passed the Waves, and 
 weathered all the storms, of a troublesome and 
 dangerous World ! Who, through many tribula- 
 tions, have entered into the Kingdom of Heaven ; 
 1 Job iii. 13. 
 
THE ENGLISH SCHOOL OF MELANCHOLY 83 
 
 and thereby brought Honour to their Divine 
 Convoy, administered comfort to the Compan- 
 ions of their Toil, and left an instructive Ex- 
 ample to succeeding Pilgrims."^ 
 
 " Mais quel est celui que couvre cette pierre 
 dont la blancheur pure paroit etre I'embleme de 
 I'innocence ? . . . Approchons. . . . C'est un 
 enfant qui re9ut et rendit presque au meme in- 
 stant son ^me tendre et fugitive. II n'a point 
 connu la peine et la douleur ; il ne s'est arrete 
 qu'un moment aux portes de la vie, pour laver 
 sa tache originelle, et aussit6t il a dit un adieu 
 rapide au tems et a la terre, et s'est elance du 
 berceau dans la tombe. Qu'a-t-il done entrevu 
 dans notre monde de si rebutant et de si in- 
 supportable, pour en sortir si brusquement? 
 Seroit-ce que ce jeune etranger, lorsqu'il gouta 
 la vie, trouva la coupe trop amere, et detour- 
 nant la tete, refusa d'en boire davantage? 
 Degoute par ce premier essai, il aura fui du 
 monde pour se sauver dans la paix du tombeau 
 qui lui sembla plus douce et plus tranquille. 
 
 " Heureux et rapide passager, a peine tu quit- 
 tas le rivage, que tu te vis entrer dans le port ! 
 Plus que toi, pourtant, ils meritent d'etre heu- 
 1 Hervey, Meditations, London, 1759, p. 15. 
 
84 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 reux, ceux qui ont surmonte les flots et les tem- 
 petes d'un long et dangereux trajet, qui ont 
 soulage dans la route les compagnons de leurs 
 travaux et laisse I'exemple de leur courage aux 
 voyageurs qui les suivent." ^ 
 
 Besides the Meditations, this volume con- 
 tained three of Harvey's Letters and a prose 
 translation of Gray's Elegy. Le Tourneur adds 
 in a note that he inserts it because it seems to 
 him written with " taste, force, and harmony," in 
 addition to which its subject is analogous to the 
 one he has just been translating. It will per- 
 haps be interesting to observe his degree of suc- 
 cess, but the reader accustomed to the harmonious 
 flow of the English lines will hardly recognize 
 them in their colorless and ill-fitting prose dress. 
 
 " -J'entends le son de la cloche funebre qui 
 annonce la fin du jour ; les troupeaux mugissans 
 marchent a pas lents, et tortueux vers I'etable ; 
 le laboureur fatigue regagne avec effort sa 
 chaumiere, il abandonne I'univers a I'effroi des 
 tenebres et a I'horreur de mes reflexions. 
 ******* 
 
 " Ainsi mille pierres precieuses sont ren- 
 
 1 Meditations d'Servey, traduites par Le Tourneur, Paris, 
 1770, p. 84. 
 
THE ENGLISH SCHOOL OF MELANCHOLY 85 
 
 fermees dans les sombres cavites des montagnes ; 
 mille fleurs naissantes repandent dans les deserts 
 une odeur embaumee." 
 
 These stanzas show Le Tourneur in one of 
 his worst moments. Whether he was inaccurate 
 from ignorance or design, it is hard to say. 
 Did he disapprove or misunderstand " a gem of 
 purest ray serene " and was it as a concession to 
 taste that he wrote precieuses ? Was he trying 
 to correct an error on Gray's part when he 
 wrote montagnes instead of ocSan ? Did he con- 
 sider Stable more elegant than plaine P And why 
 did he include " born to blush unseen " in the 
 comprehensive and colorless naissantes ? To such 
 questions, the answer must remain uncertain. 
 Yet a careful study of Le Tourneur's work as a 
 translator reveals so great a general understand- 
 ing of English, so much skill in preserving the 
 idea through the medium of paraphrase, so much 
 clearness of judgment in the appreciation of lit- 
 erature, and so much care and conscientious- 
 ness in method, that it is difficult to attribute 
 all his inaccuracy to ignorance or carelessness. 
 It seems more probable that as Young " dedai- 
 gnoit d'avoir du gout," he disdained to be faith- 
 ful to his text, and in many cases, at least, 
 
86 PIEERE LE TOURNEUE 
 
 deliberately paraphrased for the sake of better 
 suiting his purpose as interpreter of ideas, rather 
 than of words. 
 
 The second volume of Hervey's Meditations, 
 which contain his reflections upon nature, was 
 translated, not by Le Tourneur, but by Pey- 
 ron.^ He had already translated independently 
 the Meditations in a Flower Garden, and had 
 given them to the same bookseller who was 
 publishing Le Tourneur's work. Apparently 
 he and Le Tourneur came to an amicable ar- 
 rangement of collaboration, for Le Tourneur 
 reviewed Peyron's translation and it was pub- 
 lished as the second part of his own, with 
 Peyron's name on the title -page. ^ These medi- 
 tations, although somewhat more flowery in 
 style, are of the same general character as the 
 
 1 Peyron, Jean Frangois (1748-1784), translator, com- 
 missioner of the Colonies, secretary of M. de Bussy, trans- 
 lator of Nouvelles Lettres persanes (Lyttleton), 1770; ie 
 Fourbe (Congreve), 1775 ; rHomme et la Femme sensibles 
 (Mackenzie), 1775; Choix de Lettres de Lord Chesterfield, 
 1776 ; Jeux de Calliope, Collection de poemes anglois, 
 italiens, allemands, espagnols, 1776. 
 
 ^ Meditations d''Hervey, traduites par M. Pejrron et revues 
 par M. Le Tourneur, Seconde Partie, Paris, 1771. 
 
 This volume contains also: Les funerailles d'Arabert, 
 Beligieux de la Trappe, Poeme de M. Jerningham. 
 
THE ENGLISH SCHOOL OF MELANCHOLY 87 
 
 others, and differ from them only in revealing 
 a sincere and unaffected love for nature. 
 
 The public greeted this new acquisition in 
 the genre sombre with appreciative interest, if 
 not with overwhelming enthusiasm. The Nuits 
 d" Young still fully satisfied its love for mel- 
 ancholy and it did not find Hervey his superior 
 or his equal. The AnnSe LittSraire even went 
 so far as to question Hervey's genius and his 
 taste.i The Avant Ooureur, on the contrary, 
 declared that Hervey had " le sentiment vif, I'im- 
 agination ardente, le style noble et sublime." ^ 
 But however diverse popular feeling might be 
 in regard to the author, it was of one mind 
 concerning the merit of its favorite , transla- 
 tor. 
 
 " II est impossible de vivre mieux qu'Hervey, 
 et difficile d'ecrire aussi bien que M. Le Tour- 
 neur," writes one critic from The Hague,^ and 
 
 1 " Quelquefois mime I'Auteur Anglois manque de goflt, 
 sa Meditation sur le tombeau d'un enfant en est un exemple 
 ... on y reconnoit toujours un certain air guind^, de la 
 g§ne, un tour p^nible, et Je ne sais quoi de fatigant qui 
 acoable." — Annee Litteraire, September, 1770. 
 
 2 V Avant Coureur, Aug. 6, 1770. 
 
 8 Bibliothlque des Sciences et des Beaux Arts, La Haye, 
 1771. 
 
88 PIERRE LE TOURNBUK 
 
 this seems to have been the general consensus 
 of opinion. 
 
 Editions of Hervey were frequent, and the 
 Meditations were often printed with the works 
 of Young, and formed part of the Ifuits as late 
 as 1824.1 
 
 Even while France was listening with delight 
 to the melancholy strains of Young and Hervey, 
 another poet from across the sea was playing a 
 still more plaintive and penetrating music, softly 
 as yet, but gradually louder and clearer, till 
 he caught the attentive ear of Le Tourneur, who 
 then heralded his approach with a loud blare of 
 trumpets which almost drowned the slow, deep 
 notes of the Thoxights and Meditations. 
 
 In 1760 James Macpherson published in 
 Edinburgh the first of his so-called translations 
 from the Gaelic poems of Ossian.^ They at 
 once crossed the English Channel and in the 
 same year French translations of some of them 
 by Turgot appeared in the Journal Etranger? 
 
 1 Les Nuits d^ Young, suivies des Meditations sur les 
 Tombeaux d'Hervey, Paris, 1824, 2 toIs. in 8vo. 
 
 2 Fragments of Ancient Poetry, 1760 ; Mngal, 1762 ; 
 Temora and Other Poems of Ossian, 1763. 
 
 ^ Journal Stranger, September, 1760 ; Connal et Cri- 
 mora, Myno et Alpin. 
 
THE ENGLISH SCHOOL OF MELANCHOLY 89 
 
 The new kind of literature was well received. 
 " Cela est beau comme Homere," wrote Grimm. ^ 
 Thus encouraged, the Journal Etranger con- 
 tinued to print translations from the new poet 
 and during the next two years published parts 
 of Fingal, Lathmore, Oithona, Bar Thula, Oonlath, 
 and Cuthona, translated by the Abbe Suard.^ 
 In 1760 the Duchesse d'Aiguillon translated 
 Oarthon.^ 
 
 Ossian was by this time beginning to attract 
 attention, and now in France, as in England, 
 arose a hot discussion as to his historical 
 identity, which waged in the literary periodi- 
 cals for several years.* This, together with 
 the impossibility of arriving at any definite 
 decision, naturally increased, rather than di- 
 minished, the popularity of Ossian. In 1768 
 the translations made by Turgot and Suard 
 for the Journal Granger, were collected and 
 
 1 Correspondanee litteraire, avril, 1762. 
 
 2 Journal Stranger, December, 1761 ; January, February, 
 April, July, 1762. 
 
 8 Carthon, pofeme traduit de I'anglois par Mme. * * * 
 Londres, 1762. Cf. also Memoires secrets, Feb. 20, 1762. 
 
 * Journal des Savants, February, November, 1762 ; May, 
 June, September, December, 1764 ; Gazette litteraire, 1764, 
 1765. 
 
90 PIERRE LE TOURNE0E 
 
 published in the latter's Varietis LittSraireg.^ 
 Three years later, Le Tourneur brought out 
 two small volumes entitled Ohoix de Contes et 
 de Poesies erses.^ The second volume of this 
 work contained, besides a series of English 
 Letters, fourteen short translations, some com- 
 plete, some extracts, of the poems of Ossian. 
 They are, for the most part, the more lyrical 
 passages, such as the Description af a Night in 
 October, Minvane, Lathmon, etc., which would 
 appeal at once to a public already enjoying 
 the more outspoken melancholy of Young and 
 Hervey. These poems, too, were sad, but with 
 a gentle, mysterious sadness, and they had a 
 delicate beauty of imagination and pastel-like 
 descriptions of nature and human love, which 
 fell gratefully upon ears a trifle wearied, per- 
 haps, by songs of human wretchedness and 
 religious consolation. Hence, this addition to 
 the few translations of Ossian, which were 
 already known, was felt to be a distinct acquisi- 
 tion, and especially was the world of letters 
 glad to welcome anything new from the hand 
 
 1 Suard, VarieUs Litteraires, Paris, 1768. 
 ^ Choix de Oontes et de Poesies erses, traduits de I'An- 
 glois par M. Le Tourneur, Paris, 1771, 2 vols, in 8to. 
 
THE ENGLISH SCHOOL OF MELANCHOLY 91 
 
 of its favorite interpreter of English litera- 
 ture. The translation was made "aveo gout,"^ 
 which was high praise, and the poetry itself 
 was "simple and sublime." ^ One of the most 
 admired passages was the apostrophe to the 
 star in Minona, which is familiar to modern 
 readers in the poetic rendering of Alfred de 
 Musset.^ 
 
 " Etoile, compagne de la nuit, dont la tete 
 sort brillante des nuages du couchant, et dont 
 les pas majestueux s'impriment sur I'azur du 
 firmament, que regardes-tu dans la plaine ? Les 
 vents, orageux du jour se taisent. Le bruit du 
 torrent semble s'etre eloigne. Les flots adoucis 
 rampent au pied des rochers. Les moucherons 
 du soir, rapidement portes sur leurs ailes legeres, 
 remplissent de leurs bourdonnements le silence 
 des airs. Etoile brillante que regardes-tu dans 
 
 1 Annee Litteraire, 1772, Vol. III. 
 
 2 "Les pofeies erses ont de trfes grandes beaut^s, des 
 ImEiges frappantes, une expression grande et 6nergique." 
 
 — Journal encyclopedique, June, 1772. 
 
 8 "Paie etoile du soir, messagfere lointaine 
 
 Dont le front sort brillant des voiles du couchant, 
 De ton palais d'azur, au sein du firmament, 
 Que regardes-tu dans la plaine ? " 
 
 — Le Saule II. 
 
92 PIERRK LE TOUKNEUR 
 
 la plaine ? Mais je te vois t'abaisser sur les 
 bords de rhorizon. Deja tu te places dans les 
 eaux ; les vagues se rassemblent autour de toi, at 
 baignent ton aimable chevelure. Adieu, etoile 
 silencieuse. Que la lumiere de mon genie brille 
 a ta place." ^ 
 
 It might easily be supposed that with this 
 favorable reception, Le Tourneur, who was not 
 slow to perceive and to take advantage of the 
 trend of popular taste, would have at once pre- 
 pared a complete translation of the Gaelic poet. 
 It is indeed probable that only lack of time 
 prevented him from undertaking this congenial 
 task. But besides the translations of Young 
 and Hervey, he was busy this same year with 
 the Lives of Savage and Thomson, and the 
 History of Charles V, and was very likely en- 
 gaged upon the translation of Shakespeare. So 
 it was not until 1777 that he found the requisite 
 leisure to introduce Ossian fully and ceremo- 
 niously to France.^ The poet's entry then, 
 though late, was in the nature of a triumph, 
 
 ^ Ghoix de Contes et de Poesies erses. Vol. II. p. 72. 
 
 2 Ossian, FiU de Mngal, Barde du Troisieme Siecle. 
 Poesies GalUques, traduites sur I'Anglois de M. Macpherson 
 par M. Le Tourneur, Paris, 1777, 2 vols, in 8vo (Approb., 
 17 novembre, 1774 ; Privil6ge, 15 mars, 1775). 
 
THE ENGLISH SCHOOL OF MELANCHOLY 93 
 
 and soon, thanks to Le Tourneur's interpreta- 
 tion, he became a well-known and influential 
 figure in European literature. 
 
 The translation itself is a distinct advance 
 in ease and accuracy upon those of Young and 
 Hervey, and few liberties have been taken with 
 the text. How nearly faithful Le Tourneur 
 could be when he chose, will be seen from the 
 following lines : 
 
 "The setting sun was yellow on Dora. 
 Grey evening began to descend. Temora's 
 woods shook with the blast of the inconstant 
 wind. A cloud at length gathered in the 
 West, and a red star looked from behind its 
 edge. I stood in the wood alone, and saw a 
 ghost on the darkening air. His stride ex- 
 tended from hill to hill; his shield was dim 
 on his side. It was the son of Semo ; I knew 
 the warrior's face. But he passed away in 
 his blast; and all was dark around." — Temora, 
 Bk. I.i 
 
 " Le soleil couchant jaunissoit le sommet du 
 
 Dora, le soir commengoit a meler au jour son 
 
 ombre grisatre ; d'inegales bouffees de vent agi- 
 
 toient par intervalles les bois de Temora. Un 
 
 1 Ossian, Poems, London, 1765, Vol. II. p. 24. 
 
94 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 nuage epais se forma lentement au couchant, 
 h la pointe du nuage paroissoit une etoile rouge- 
 atre ; j'etois reste seul dans la foret. Tout a 
 coup, j'appergois un phantome dans les airs. 
 Ses pas s'etendoient d'une coUine a I'autre, ses 
 flancs etoient couverts de son bouclier tene- 
 breux. C'etoit le fils de Semo. Je reconnus 
 les traits de CuchuUier, mais il passa rapide- 
 ment dans un tourbillon de vent, et bientSt les 
 tenebres de la nuit le deroberent a ma vue." 
 — Temora, Bk. I. 
 
 The Discours PrSliminaire which Le Tourneur 
 prefixed to his translation, is composed almost 
 entirely of extracts from Macpherson's essays on 
 Ossian, and contains little of his own judgments 
 or appreciation. Towards the end, however, a 
 few significant lines indicate as much bitterness 
 as the gentle soul of Le Tourneur seems to 
 have been capable of expressing, and show that 
 the Voltaire-Shakespeare quarrel had left him 
 a sadder, if not a wiser, man. Macph^rson, and 
 Cesarotti, who had translated Ossian into Italian, 
 had compared the Gothic bard to Homer. Com- 
 menting upon this, Le Tourneur without going 
 so far in enthusiasm, declares that nevertheless 
 Ossian is a great poet, and is ready to hold to 
 
THE ENGLISH SCHOOL OF MELANCHOLY 95 
 
 this opinion, even in the face of literary excom- 
 munication.i 
 
 But Le Tourneur need not have feared. It 
 was he, not Macpherson, who received the grate- 
 ful thanks of the literary world for the service 
 rendered in bringing Ossian to its attention. 
 His translation was welcomed with an enthusi- 
 asm equaled only by that accorded his Young 
 and Shakespeare, and, like them, it remained 
 the standard until well on into the nineteenth 
 century. La Harpe, who had been, at first, 
 coldly critical, characterized the translation as 
 " correct and elegant " ; ^ the Journal de Paris, 
 
 1 " II n'est pas inutile d'avertir ici que cette opinion leur 
 appartient, et que I'exposer, ce n'est pas I'adopter sans 
 reserve. Cette pr&aution devient d'autant plus n^cessaire, 
 qu'aujourd'hui un sentiment d'enthousiasme pour le g^nie 
 d'un Po6te stranger est presque mis au rang des crimes ; 
 qu'il faut en Litt6rature ne pas oublier de faire sa pro- 
 fession de gofi.t, sous peine d'enoourir une espfeoe d'excom- 
 munication litt^raire, et que certains principes, fort sages, 
 ^ la v6rit6, mais qui n'enferment pas toutes les bornes de 
 I'art, sont 6rig6s en dogmes sacr^s hors desquels il n'est 
 plus ni m^rite ni salut. Sans placer Ossian sur la mSme 
 ligne qu'Hom6re, nous sommes persuadfe qu'U fut aussi un 
 grand Pofete, qu'il y a une foule de beaut^s et de traits 
 pr^cieux dans ses Pofemes, et qu'aprfes la lecture de cette 
 collection, on saura gr^ ^ M. Macpherson du service qu'il a 
 rendu k la Litt^rature. " 
 
 2 La Harpe, Cours de Litterature, Paris, 1863, Vol. IL 
 p. 728. 
 
96 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 pronounced it "energetic, free, and pictur- 
 esque," ^ and Fontanes expressed the general 
 opinion in enthusiastic, if in somewhat halting, 
 verses : ^ 
 
 " O Le Tourneur ! 6 toi dont la prose bardie 
 Des vers audacieux osa presque imiter 
 
 L'inimitable melodie, 
 Tu d^couvris plus d'une fois 
 Des tr&ors inconnus aux muses de notre S,ge, 
 Et quoique, de nos vers m^connaissant les droits, 
 Tu sembles r^prouver leur utile esolavage. 
 Des pontes fran9ais je te porte I'bommage. 
 
 Mais puis-je esperer que ma vols 
 
 Leur rendra jamais ton suffrage ? " 
 
 Ossian, like Young, exercised an undeniable 
 influence upon European literature, and was an 
 important factor in the first faint beginnings 
 of the Romantic movement. His poetry was 
 translated into Italian, Spanish, Swedish, and 
 Dutch, but its sphere of greatest influence was 
 in France ^ and Germany.* It created almost a 
 
 1 Journal de Paris, Mar. 25, 1777. 
 
 2 Fontanes, CEuvres, Paris, 1839, Vol. I. p. 396. 
 
 5 For Ossian in France, see Journal des Debats, Nov. 13 
 and 27, 1894, two articles by Arvfede Barine. Also Texte, 
 J. J. Bousseau et le Cosmopolitisme Utteraire. Paris, 1895. 
 
 * For Ossian in Germany, see Bailey Saunders, Life 
 and Letters of James Macpherson. London, 1894. Ossian 
 in Germany, Rudolf Tombo. New York, 1901. 
 
THE ENGLISH SCHOOL OF MELANCHOLY 97 
 
 revolution in Klopstock's circle. Its influence 
 was strongly felt by Goethe, and shown espe- 
 cially in Werther, where the hero says, " Ossian 
 has supplanted Homer in my heart," and it 
 was Ossian that he and Charlotte were reading 
 on that last fatal night. 
 
 In France, Ossian's influence was even more 
 widespread, although, at first. La Harpe and 
 Voltaire and others held somewhat aloof. ^ But 
 they were exceptions and were powerless to 
 check the steady, onward flow of the current. 
 Other men of letters followed Le Tourneur's ex- 
 ample, notably Baour-Lormian, who in 1801 made 
 a translation, expressly, it is said, for the use of 
 the French army. Cesarotti's Italian version 
 was Napoleon's favorite reading and the trans- 
 lator was handsomely rewarded. Mme. de Stael 
 devoted a chapter in her Litterature to the 
 discussion of the statement, "II existe, ce me 
 semble, deux litteratures tout a fait distinctes, 
 
 1 Journal encyclopedique, January, 1762. 
 
 "Tout son m^rite (Fingal) consists k peu prfes dans son 
 antiquity. Une traduction frangoise de cet ouvrage seroit 
 certainement insupportable." To wliioh Lessing replies, 
 "Desto schlimmer fur die Frauzosen." {Collectaneen aus 
 dem Nachlass.) 
 
98 PIERRE LE TOtTRNEUR 
 
 celle qui vient du midi et celle qui descend du 
 Nord, celle dont Homers est la premiere source, 
 celle dont Ossian est I'origine."^ Two years 
 later, Chateaubriand, in the GSnie du Chris- 
 tianisme, described his impressions upon reading 
 Ossian.2 Lamartine, in his Confidences, speaks 
 of the admiration he felt in his youth for these 
 Gaelic poems. ^ Alfred de Musset put into liquid 
 measures the beginning of the Chants de Selma 
 already quoted, and the poetry of Leopardi has 
 echoes of Ossian's weird and plaintive music. 
 Edgar Quinet felt the spell, * and George Sand 
 read Ossian to divert her from the sorrows of 
 her married life.^ Furthermore, a tragedy,^ 
 several paintings,'^ and an opera ^ testified to the 
 hold which the Gaelic poet had taken upon 
 French minds and hearts. 
 
 The publication of Ossian's poems in 1777 
 concluded Le Tourneur's work as the inter- 
 preter of English poetry of the school of melan- 
 
 1 Mm de. Stael, De la Litterature, Chap. XI. 
 
 ' Chateaubriand, Le Genie du Christianisme, Chap. IV. 
 
 3 Lamartine, Les Confidences, Bk. VI. pp. 6-10. 
 
 ^ Edgar Quinet, Histoire de mes Idees, p. 132. 
 
 ' George Sand, Histoire de ma Vie, Vol. IV. Chap. I. 
 
 Arnauld, Oscar, Fils d' Ossian, 1796. 
 
 ' Girodet-Trioson, 1802. 
 
 8 Lesueur, Les Bardes, 1804. 
 
THE ENGLISH SCHOOL OE MELANCHOLY 99 
 
 choly. Henceforward, with the exception of 
 Shakespeare and Ariosto, he was to devote him- 
 self to the translation of prose, and although 
 his later labors far exceeded the earlier in bulk, 
 these first half dozen volumes contain what is 
 best and most enduring of his work. His Young, 
 Hervey, and Ossian introduced a new kind of 
 literature to France and gave a vigorous im- 
 pulse to the movement which was to dominate 
 European literature for the next fifty years. 
 His translations of these three authors long re- 
 mained the standard of interpretation of what 
 was felt to be the best in English literature, and 
 are, thus, significant in the study of English in- 
 fluence upon Continental letters. To the modern 
 scientific scholar they are in many ways exas- 
 perating, and he is tempted at first sight to 
 pronounce them practically worthless. As a 
 translator, Le Tourneur is far from perfect. He 
 is frequently inaccurate, he is often high flown 
 and bombastic in style where he should be sim- 
 ple and direct, he takes great liberties with his 
 text, omitting, adding, transposing, paraphrasing 
 at his own will, with a boldness and freedom cal- 
 culated to scandalize the conscientious worker. 
 The fact that his contemporaries not only ex- 
 
100 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 cused, but actually approved, this apparently 
 unjustifiable method, simply shows that there 
 was, in the eighteenth century critical mind, an 
 entirely different conception of the duties and 
 prerogatives of the translator from that which 
 obtains to-day ; and this must be kept in mind 
 in any judgment of Le Tourneur's work. He 
 is an interpreter of literature rather than a 
 translator; a prism, which catches and reflects 
 in many colored lights, rather than a mirror, 
 which clearly shows objects as they actually are. 
 From this point of view he succeeded admirably 
 in his undertaking. With all his faults, he still 
 manages to seize the essential meaning, to catch 
 and preserve the atmosphere of the original, 
 adding at the same time a delicate flavor of his 
 own which blends harmoniously and almost 
 imperceptibly with that of his author. What 
 Young loses of his stately blank verse and his 
 impressive periods, he gains in clearness and 
 directness and in the cameolike rearrangement 
 of his immense masses of material. Hervey's 
 lugubrious reflections lose the grotesque touches 
 which unintentionally enliven them, but gain 
 in elegance and conciseness ; and through the 
 stilted prose of Le Tourneur may still be felt 
 
THE ENGLISH SCHOOL OE MELANCHOLY 101 
 
 much of the weird, mysterious charm of the 
 Ossianic poems. 
 
 Le Tourneur's end seems to have justified his 
 means, and his method proved successful by its 
 results. At all events, it was well suited to his 
 public and his time. It is, indeed, a question 
 whether an accurate and scientific translation 
 would or could have accomplished the work of 
 his adaptations ; whether France, worshiping 
 devoutly at the shrine of Le Bon GroM, would 
 have admired or welcomed these English poets 
 in all their " barbaric crudeness." It may be 
 doubted whether, if Young, Hervey, and Ossian 
 had been introduced to France with less prep- 
 aration and less ceremony, they would have 
 been received with as much enthusiasm and 
 gained as rapidly as firm a foothold in France. 
 That they did so is, of course, due in part to 
 the stage of development of literary taste which 
 France had then reached. The time was ripe 
 for their appearance ; all circumstances were 
 favorable. Nevertheless, their great success 
 and their widespread influence must have been 
 due in part to the work of Le Tourneur, who 
 had the power and the skill so to present these 
 unusual strangers to his countrymen that they 
 
102 PIEEEE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 were no longer aliens, but became at once citi- 
 zens of France. It is perhaps not too much to 
 say that without his insight, his good judgment, 
 and his tact, the success of the Grave Yard 
 School of poetry in France would have been 
 smaller, and the march of the Romantic Move- 
 ment perceptibly retarded. 
 
IV. MINOR TRANSLATIONS: ENGLISH, 
 GERMAN, ITALIAN 
 
 The translator of Young, Ossian, and Shake- 
 speare did not confine himself to these consider- 
 able achievements. During the eighteen years 
 following the appearance of the JVuits, he pro- 
 duced about a dozen other translations of vary- 
 ing length and interest. They are, for the most 
 part, from English literature, although he tried 
 his hand at one or two German works and even 
 experimented with Italian poetry. These trans- 
 lations include moral tales, novels, biography, 
 history, stories of exploration and adventure, a 
 single religious work, and a volume of poetry. 
 But in spite of this wide range of subjects Le 
 Tourneur seems to have had no fixed system 
 of selection from the vast field of literature. 
 Whether he was forced by circumstances to de- 
 vote himself to a sort of hack work, or whether 
 he lost the fine sense of discrimination and 
 appreciation which led him to choose to inter- 
 103 
 
104 PIEREE LB TOUENEUR 
 
 pret Shakespeare, it would be difficult to deter- 
 mine. The fact remains that with the exception 
 of Clarissa Harlowe and Robertson's History of 
 Charles V., he translated nothing of any perma- 
 nent or intrinsic literary value. His labors during 
 these years were confined to works of a purely 
 temporary interest, which have fallen into more 
 or less obscurity, and the originals of which, in 
 some cases, it has been impossible to trace. They 
 represent no one school or phase of literary 
 development, but seem rather to be the hap- 
 hazard work of an omnivorous reader who set 
 himself to translate whatever struck his individ- 
 ual fancy. Any serious attempt to group them 
 thus becomes impracticable, and they will best 
 be considered, for the most part, in the order in 
 which Le Tourneur produced them. 
 
 True to his promise of 1770 to abandon ceme- 
 teries and yew trees, he published, the following 
 year, a Choix de Contes et de PoSsies erses}- The 
 fourteen Contes which fill the first volume con- 
 sist of short moral tales somewhat after the 
 manner of Marmontel. The scene is generally 
 laid in England, although there is one in Green- 
 
 1 Choix de Contes et de Poesies erses, traduits de P Anglois, 
 par M. Le Tourneur, Paris, 1771, 2 vols, in 8vo. 
 
MINOR TRANSLATIONS 105 
 
 land,^ one in Spain,^ one in Persia,^ and one in 
 India.* There is, however, little local color, 
 and they are rather mediocre in theme and 
 treatment, with only now and then a touch of 
 grace or humor. Such a sentence as " Un Roi 
 de Perse eut le genie de se douter que ses flat- 
 teurs pouvoient mentir " ^ is sufficiently rare to 
 make it noticeable, and marks the beginning of 
 one of the most graceful stories in the collection. 
 The ordinary themes are employed, such as the 
 reward of virtue, fraternal love, the cruel step- 
 mother, the folly of judging from appearances, 
 the consequences of a hasty marriage, and the 
 like, and their development shows little inge- 
 nuity or originality. 
 
 The most pleasing are perhaps Eiidoxie, ou le 
 beau projet de solitude, and Les Amours de 
 Grroenland. The former relates how a young 
 girl, upon the death of her mother, decides to 
 spend her life in pious solitude on one of her 
 country estates. The lover, Alphenor, who, if 
 young in years, is old in wisdom, stipulates only 
 that he may come to visit her after three months 
 
 1 Ammingait et Ajut. ' Le Ministre Berger. 
 
 ^ Le Ministre Philosophe. * Oil trouver des Amis. 
 
 6 Le Ministre Berger. 
 
106 PIERRE LB TOURNBUR 
 
 have elapsed. Eudoxie is perfectly happy. The 
 first week she spends in arranging the house, 
 and the second in pious devotions. The third, 
 she begins to be bored, and by the fourth she is 
 looking eagerly forward to the coming of Al- 
 phenor. This the wily youth purposely delays, 
 and when he at length appears, it is to tell his 
 mistress, with a sigh of admiration for her and 
 despair for himself, that he, too, has been living 
 the solitary life, and finds it absolutely unbear- 
 able. At hearing this expression of her own 
 feelings, Eudoxie lets fall a tear. " ' Que vous 
 Stes obligeante,' lui dit Alphenor, ' d'etre si 
 sensible au malheur de votre ami.' " Confessions 
 and explanations follow, the two are united, and 
 presumably live happy ever after. 
 
 The charm of the Greenland story lies in its 
 unusual local color, and in the lyric touches, 
 especially in Ajut's prayer for her lover who 
 leaves her to seek his fortune in the winter sea.^ 
 
 1 "Puissent ses mains 8tre plus fortes que les griffes de 
 Tours ; ses pieds plus Mgers que les pieds du renne ! puisse 
 sa flfeche ne manquer jamais son but, et son bateau ne 
 faire jamais eau ! puisse-t-il ne jamais tomber sur les gla- 
 90ns ou s'^vanouir dans les flots ! que le veau marin vlenne 
 de lui-mgme se prendre k son harpon, et que la baleine bles- 
 s6e de son dard s'aglte en vain dans les vagues I " Choix de 
 Contes, p. 190. 
 
MINOR TRANSLATIONS 107 
 
 The Lettres Angloises,'^ which, together with 
 the Poisies erses, form the second volume, con- 
 tinue the moral instruction of the tales in a 
 series of letters upon Le Bonheur, Des Manages 
 prematurSs, L'AmitiS, Le Jeu, and similar sub- 
 jects. They contain much sound advice and 
 common sense, but little originality of thought 
 or treatment. The best is one on " Le Tems," 
 in which the author relates a dream. He found 
 himself before the throne of Rhadamanthus, 
 who was that day assigning their places to the 
 souls of women, sending them to Tartarus on 
 his left, or to the Elysian Fields on his right. 
 " ' Madame,' dit-il a la premiere, ' vous avez ete 
 environ cinquante ans sur la terre, qu'avez-vous 
 fait pendant tout ce tems-la?' ' Ce que j'ai 
 fait,' dit-elle, ' en verite je n'en sais rien, ce 
 que j'ai fait ; il faudroit me donner quelque 
 tems pour me recueillir et me le rappeler.' 
 Apres une demi-heure de reflexion, elle repondit 
 qu'elle les avoit passes a jouer au Whist ; 1^- 
 dessus Rhadamanthus dit au geolier de sa 
 gauche de s'en charger." The second woman 
 
 1 Two of these Lettres Angloises, are addressed to Le 
 Guardien, whicla iniglit mean the English periodical The 
 Guardian. 
 
108 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 had spent her time reading novels, another 
 in making pomade, but there came, finally, a 
 "bonne menagdre de campagne toute unie: 'he 
 bien, ma chere,' dit Rhadamanthus, ' qu'avez- 
 Yous fait?' ' Monseigneur, je n'ai pas vecu 
 tout a fait quarante ans. Pendant ce tems-la, 
 i'ai donne sept fiUes a mon mari, je lui ai 
 fait neuf mille fromages, et je I'ai laisse avec 
 ma fille ainee pour avoir soin du menage pen- 
 dant mon absence, et je peux me vanter que 
 c'est une des bonnes menageres qu'il y ait dans 
 le canton.' Rhadamanthus sourit de la simpli- 
 eite de cette bonne femme et la consigna au 
 Por tier des Champs Elysees."^ 
 
 These tales, slight as they were, were received 
 with pleasure by a public already a little sati- 
 ated with the gloomy reflections of Young and 
 Hervey. The Annie Litteraire 2 in particular, 
 spoke of them with enthusiasm and quoted the 
 description of the Abbess in Eudoxie as a por- 
 trait worthy of the pen of La Bruyere.° Igno- 
 
 1 Choix de Oontes et de Poesies erses, "Vol. II. p. 164. 
 
 ^ Annee Litteraire, June, 1772. 
 
 8 " L'abbesse 6toit un vrai module de chastet^, il est vrai 
 que cette vertu n'^toit pas chez elle fort m&itoire. On avoit 
 connu son oaraotfere avant qu'elle fut oharg^e du gouverne- 
 ment de cette communaut^. Ses jeunes ^toient I'effet de 
 
MINOR TRANSLATIONS 109 
 
 rance of the English originals makes it impossible 
 to judge of the merits of the translation. It is 
 probable, however, that these tales appeared in 
 some periodical, and were combined by Le Tour- 
 neur into one collection. Probably, too, in accord- 
 ance with his usual method, they were more or 
 less adapted and condensed to suit his purpose. 
 The result is sufficiently pleasing, and will af- 
 ford even the modern reader a mildly diverting 
 hour. 
 
 But even this gentle relaxation of the short- 
 story did not long detain the serious-minded Le 
 Tourneur. The same year, almost as if to make 
 amends for his momentary lapse into a lighter 
 vein, he published his Vie de Savage et de 
 Thomson,^ and collaborated in a translation of 
 Robertson's History of Charles V. The Vie de 
 
 son avarice et sa devotion le refuge de son humeur noire, et 
 m^lancolique. D^penser peu, c'^toit dans ses id6es le plus 
 grand bonheur de I'homme, et la perfection de la pi^t^ ; elle 
 mettoit la prodigality au nombre des sept p^ch^s mortels ; 
 elle pr^f^roit un cilice ^ une robe 616gante, et des cendres 
 aux parfums, par la raison qu'elles coiitoient moins cher ; 
 toutes les fois qu'on brisoit un vase, c'^toit un jour de jeunes 
 pour la communaut^. " 
 
 1 Histoire de Bichard Savage et de J. Thomson, traduites 
 de I'Anglois, par M. Le Tourneur, Paris, 1771. (approb. 
 11 avril, 1771; Privilege 14 dfeembre, 1770), lu et approuY^ 
 le 21 mai, 1769. 
 
110 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 Savage et de Thomson contained, by way of 
 preface, a prose translation of Churchill's poem. 
 The Author.^ This long poem in ten-syllable 
 rhyming couplets, which describes, with occa- 
 sional flashes of vigor, the degenerate condition 
 of English authors, appears here in an abridged 
 paraphrase, shorn of most of its contemporary 
 allusions, and rendered as nearly as possible a 
 moral essay of universal application. ^ In his 
 
 1 Churchill, Charles (1731-1764), author of the Boseiad, 
 1761 ; Gotham, 1714 ; The Author, 1764 ; The Candidate, 
 1764, etc. 
 
 2 Accurs'd the man, whom fate ordains in spite, 
 And cruel Parents teach to Read and Write ! 
 
 What need of Letters ? Wherefore should we spell ? 
 Why write our names ? A mark will do as well. 
 Much are the precious hours of youth misspent, 
 In climbing Learning's rugged steep ascent ; 
 When to the top the bold adventurer's got. 
 He reigns, vain monarch o^er a barren spot. 
 While in the vsle of Ignorance below, 
 Folly and vice to rank luxuriance grow ; 
 Honours' and wealth pour in on ev'ry side. 
 And Proud Preferment rolls her golden tide." 
 
 — Churchill, Poems, London, 1765, Vol. II. 
 
 " Malheur k I'homme k qui nos parens ont appris k lire, 
 et que le destin dans sa colfere, a condamu6 k 6orire ! Que 
 de jours perdus k se frayer p^niblement la route de la sci- 
 ence ! Et que gagne un ]fccrivain, qui, aprfes mille efforts, 
 atteint sa cime escarp^e ? Monarque, ridiculement vain, il 
 
MINOE TRANSLATIONS 111 
 
 translation of Dr. Johnson's Life of Savage, 
 however, Le Tourneur is much more exact, con- 
 tenting himself only with the occasional inter- 
 position of a phrase or word, apparently for the 
 sake of enhancing the human interest of the 
 narrative. 
 
 " Savage," says Johnson, " was at the same 
 time so touched with the discovery of his real 
 mother, that it was his frequent practice to 
 walk in the dark evenings, for several hours, 
 before her door, in hopes of seeing her as 
 she might come by accident to the window 
 or cross her apartment with a candle in her 
 hand."i 
 
 " Savage fut si touche," relates Le Tourneur, 
 
 "de la decouverte de sa veritable mere, et si 
 
 sensible d sa haine, quHl ne pouvoit renoncer a 
 
 Vespoir de la jiScMr. Pendant longtems il se 
 
 rendoit tons les soirs a la nuit devant sa porte 
 
 et y restoit des heures entieres, dans I'esperance 
 
 regne sur un empire imaginaire, tandis qu'au dessous de 
 lui, dans les vastes champs de rignoranoe, il volt le vice et 
 la folic usurper les honneurs et I'oi- rouler k grands flots vers 
 les demeures de la sottise." Here speaks the translator of 
 Young, and here are two careless or wilful mistranslations ; 
 "vain monarch" is inutile, not vain, and a " barren spot" 
 is by no means necessarily imaginaire. 
 
 1 The English Poets, London, 1810, Vol. XL p. 246. 
 
112 PIBKRE LE yOURNEUR 
 
 que le hasard pourroit la conduire a sa fenStre, 
 ou ouHl auroit du moins la satisfaction de la voir 
 traversant ses appartemens un flambeau a la 
 main." (p. 16.) 
 
 It is not difficult to see here the probable 
 working of Le Tourneur's mind. The inter- 
 polated phrases express what would have been 
 his own feeling under similar circumstances, 
 and probably what Savage felt and Johnson 
 neglected to state. Why not, then, add what 
 was so evidently true? Why be miserably 
 exact, when an added touch of truth will in- 
 crease the interest? With the same laudable 
 intention, no doubt, he inserts, at appropriate 
 intervals, translations of most of Savage's short 
 poems mentioned by Johnson in the course of 
 his biography, and thus Le Tourneur's version 
 is considerably the longer. The Vie de Thom- 
 son is an abridged translation of an anonymous 
 biography prefixed to an edition of Thomson's 
 works in 1763. ^ It received the least notice 
 of the three pieces which compose the volume. 
 Thomson was already well known in France,^ 
 
 1 James Thomson, Works, London, 1763, 2 vols. 
 
 2 Les Saisons, pofeme traduit de I'Anglois de Thomson 
 (Mme. de Bontems), Paris, 1759, in 8vo. 
 
MINOE TRANSLATIONS 113 
 
 and this slight sketch of his life was of no ap- 
 preciable added interest or value.-' 
 
 L'Auteur and the Histoire de Savage carried 
 off the honors. The former, "M. Le Tourneur 
 a traduit avec cette vigueur qu'il a repandue dans 
 sa traduction (Jes ouvrages d'Young. Ce vo- 
 lume fait honneur, au Traducteur, a I'Auteur et 
 aux h^ros de ces histoires."^ 
 
 This same year of 1771 saw yet another work 
 by Le Tourneur, the fourth which had come 
 from his pen within the twelve months.^ The 
 third and fourth volumes of Suard's translation 
 of Robertson's History of Charles V. * are said to 
 have been intrusted to Le Tourneur.^ He ac- 
 quitted himself of this task with skill, and with 
 a greater fidelity to the text than he had shown 
 hitherto. 
 
 The last return of Le Tourneur to the more 
 serious and somber kind of literature is a reli- 
 
 1 For Thomson in. France, see Texte, and L6on Morel, 
 James Thomson, sa Vie et ses CEuvres, Paris, 1895. 
 
 2 Journal Encyclopedique, May, 1771. 
 
 " Hervey, Ghoixde Contes, Histoire de Savage, CharlesV. 
 
 * L'' Histoire du B'egne de VMmpereiir Charles Quint, par 
 M. Robertson. Ouvrage traduit de I'Anglois. Paris et 
 Amsterdam, 1771. 
 
 5 Qu^rard, La France Litteraire ; Barbier, Dictionnaire 
 des Ouvrages Anonymes, Paris, 1874. 
 
114 PIEERE LB TOURNEUE 
 
 gious pamphlet which echoes the philosophy of 
 Young, but breathes a new note of scientific 
 optimism. Jenyns'-' Internal Evidence of the 
 Christian Religion was published in 1776, and 
 a translation had already appeared in France^ 
 before Le Tourneur undertook to render it.^ 
 Jenyns develops his subject with clearness, 
 logic, and simplicity, and in his cool, impartial 
 examination of facts seems to foreshadow the 
 modern "higher criticism" of the Bible. His 
 argument is that of Pascal : that an examination 
 of the Christian religion itself, apart from any 
 proofs deduced from miracles or prophecies, will 
 show conclusively that it cannot be the inven- 
 tion of human wisdom or the result of human 
 fraud. Such an examination reveals four dis- 
 tinct proofs : 1. The evidence of the New 
 Testament as a historical document. 2. The 
 
 1 Jenyns, Soame (1704-1787), author of Poems (1752), 
 Free Enquiry into the Nature and Origin of Evil (1757), 
 Disquisitions on Several Subjects, 1782, etc. 
 
 2 Examen de I'evidence intrinseque du Christianisme 
 traduit de VAnglois sur la 5" edition avec des notes du 
 traducteur, Londres et Lifege, 1778 in 8vo. 
 
 ' Vue de V Evidence de la Beligion Chretienne consideree 
 en elle-meme, Traduit de I'Anglois, par M. Le Tourneur, 
 Paris, 1779, 157 pp. (Approb. 4 d6c. 1778; Privilege. 11 
 f^vrier, 1779). Note: date is wrongly printed 1769. 
 
MINOR TRANSLATIONS 115 
 
 statement therein of a new and unique system 
 of religion. 3. A new system of morality, 
 which by its very character 4. cannot be of 
 human invention. The existence of Christ and 
 of the New Testament are historical facts. 
 The Christian doctrine is unique in consider- 
 ing this world merely a preparation for the 
 next; in the conception of the Trinity, etc. 
 Its leader, Christ, was of a character so extraor- 
 dinary, and inculcated principles so at vari- 
 ance with human nature and inclination, that 
 by their very divergence from the range of 
 human reason and conception, we are forced 
 to believe them of divine origin. The pamphlet 
 aroused a long controversy in England, but 
 awakened only a mild interest in France, which 
 was still full of the Shakespeare war. Le 
 Tourneur's translation, which very well pre- 
 served the logic, clearness, and simplicity of 
 the original, reached four editions, the last ap- 
 pearing in 1803.1 
 
 The same year of 1779 Le Tourneur began 
 
 1 De VJSvidence de la Religion Chretienne, ouvrage traduit 
 de I'anglois par Le Tourneur. IV Edition, augmentee d'un 
 Plan de F^nelon et de Pens^es sur la Providence, Paris, 
 an XL 
 
116 PIEEEE LE TOTTRNEUR 
 
 his second work of collaboration, the Sistoire 
 Universelle, a gigantic work in one hundred and 
 twenty-six volumes, which came out at intervals 
 during the next ten years. ^ 
 
 His most serious and individual work in 
 history, however, was the text written to accom- 
 pany a series of pictures illustrating the history 
 of England and published by David in 1784.2 
 The work, which was brought out in an Edition 
 de luxe, limited to four hundred and twenty-five 
 copies, on fine heavy paper and in sumptuous 
 binding, was dedicated to Monsieur in a joint 
 letter by David and Le Tourneur. The one 
 hundred and fifty engravings were copied from 
 masterpieces of painting and sculpture, and the 
 text, compiled by Le Tourneur from various 
 English historians, was not only to describe the 
 pictures, but, according to the Prospectus, would 
 
 1 Histoire Universelle, depuis le commencement du monde 
 jusqu' h prfisent, composfie en anglois par une soci6t6 de 
 gens de lettres : traduction nouvelle (par P. Le Tourneur, 
 L. d'Ursieux, F. G. Gofiaux et autres). Paris, 1779-1789, 
 126 vols, in 8vo (cited by Barbier, Dietionnaire des Ouv- 
 rages Anonymes, Paris, 1874, Vol. II.). 
 
 2 Histoire d^ Angleterre, representee par Eigures, accom- 
 pagn^es d'un Precis Historique. D6di6 et prfeent6 k, Mon- 
 sieur, Fr6re du Roi, Paris 1784, 2 vols, in 4to (Privil. 12 
 d^oembre, 1783). 
 
MINOR TRANSLATIONS 117 
 
 form an outline history of England, which might 
 be read with interest and pleasure quite in- 
 dependently of the engravings. These ranged 
 from the time of the Druids down to the reign 
 of George II., and represented the more dra- 
 matic moments in English history, such as the 
 death of King Arthur, Canute by the seashore, 
 the return of the seals to Henry II. by Thomas 
 a Becket, etc. The moment of William the 
 Conqueror's fall, on landing for the first time in 
 England, forms the subject of one of the en- 
 gravings, and the accompanying text shows very 
 well the general character of the whole. ^ It 
 
 1 Chute de Guillaume en 1066 
 
 . " Guillaume sortant de sa chaloupe se lanoe et tombe 
 . sur le sable. Cette chute au premier pas pouvoit §tre mal 
 . Interpret^e par une multitude dispos6e k tourner tout en 
 . presages. II le sentit k I'instant, et eut la pr&enoe d'es- 
 . prit de crier en se relevant : ' J'ai pris possession de cette 
 . terre.' Tin soldat court aussitSt a la oabane voisine, en 
 . arrache une poignte de chaume et revient I'offrir au G6- 
 . ndral, commeun signe d'investiture du Royaume. Tousles 
 soldats d'applaudir: la joie et I'espoir du butin remplissent 
 leurs coeurs. lis apprennent la vlctoire r^oente de Harold 
 et n'en sont point ^mus ; ils n'aspirent qu'^ combattre un 
 ennemi d6]k vaincu dans leur imagination. Ainsi tiennent 
 souvent aux plus vaines minuties les plus grands ^v^nements 
 et 1' opinion des hommes a tort." Vol. I. p. 97. 
 
 (The dots were put in to indicate that part of the text 
 which directly describes the engraving.) 
 
118 PIEEUE LB TOUENEUR 
 
 seems probable that the heavy quarto volumes 
 in their luxurious binding were as eagerly 
 sought, and filled the same place, in the later 
 eighteenth century as the modern " gift book " 
 with its pictures and accompanying descriptions 
 of foreign lands. 
 
 Scarcely pausing to draw breath after the 
 great labor of the translation of Shakespeare, Le 
 Tourneur turned his facile pen in the direction 
 of the novel, and in the same year as the Histoire 
 d" Angleterre published Le SylpJie, the translation 
 of an English work.^ This eighteenth-century 
 novel is the usual popular tale of the marriage of 
 a young and virtuous country girl, Julie Greville, 
 to a libertine, Sir William Stanley, and of her 
 trials and disillusionment in fashionable London 
 society. The story is told in letters from Sir 
 William to his friend Lord Bidulph and from 
 Julie to her sister Louise, who remains with the 
 father at their home in the valley of Woodley, 
 near Abergavenny in Wales. Julie's struggles 
 to be true to her husband and to her own ideals 
 
 1 Le Sylphe, traduit de I'Anglois, Genfeve et Paris, 1784. 
 1 vol. in 2 pts., 500 pp. (Tiie work was published anony- 
 mously, but is attributed to Le Tourneur by Qu6rard and 
 Barbier.) 
 
MINOR TRANSLATIONS 119 
 
 of virtue, in the midst of the corrupt society in 
 which she is placed, and in face of the bitter- 
 ness of disillusion, are rendered more difficult 
 by the appearance of the Baron Tonhausen, an 
 upright and honorable man, who becomes her 
 faithful friend, and with whom, to her horror, 
 she presently discovers that she is falling in love. 
 Helpless and friendless, she is in despair, but is 
 saved at this critical moment by the interposition 
 of the Sylph, who begins with her a secret cor- 
 respondence, warning her of threatened dangers, 
 and encouraging her to constancy and to virtue. 
 This unseen friend represents himself as her 
 Guardian Angel, who unknown to her sees her 
 daily, loves her like a father, and reads her in- 
 most soul. Blindly trusting this invisible and 
 mysterious protector, Julie is enabled, by his 
 counsels, to escape the vile machinations of 
 Bidulph to seduce her, and of Stanley to get 
 possession of her fortune, and at the death of her 
 husband, who obligingly blows his brains out, to 
 return pure and virtuous to her country home. 
 Before the end of the first volume, the discern- 
 ing reader has easily guessed that the Sylph 
 and the Baron Tonhausen are one and the 
 same, and is not surprised to learn, a little 
 
120 PIERRE LE TOURNBUR 
 
 later, that both are identical with Henry 
 Woodley, Julie's youthful lover who had gone 
 to London to make his fortune before the appear- 
 ance of Stanley on the scene. But now his 
 difficulties begin. The artful Sylph had ex- 
 tracted from Julie a promise never to engage 
 her affections without his consent, and, faithful 
 to him, and to the Baron Tonhausen who has 
 strangely and mysteriously disappeared, and to 
 whose memory she proposes to devote what re- 
 mains of her shattered life, she utterly refuses to 
 listen to the advances of the constant and ador- 
 ing Henry. It is only by appearing before her 
 in his threefold character that he is at length 
 able to win her hand, and to live ever after in the 
 peace and prosperity his long-continued devo- 
 tion and virtue have deserved. 
 
 A characteristic touch of Le Tourneur is the 
 omission, as irrelevant, of the story of Julie's 
 father, who withdrew from the world to live in 
 seclusion in the country .^ Like him, too, is the 
 explanation in a footnote of two quotations from 
 Shakespeare, cited by Sir William in his first 
 
 1 It was printed in Le Jardin Anglois, 1788, Vol. II. pp. 
 59-104, under the title " Lettre d'un P6re retire ^ la cam- 
 pagne k sa Mile nouvellement marine et ^tablie ^ Londres, 
 qui lui avoit demand^ la cause de sa retraite." 
 
MINOR TRANSLATIONS 121 
 
 letter. 1 The novel, as a whole, offers nothing 
 particularly worthy of note in style or subject, 
 although the rather ingenious plot may awaken 
 a mild and temporary interest.^ The reader 
 may well be roused to envy and admiration, 
 however, by the description of a beautiful hair 
 medallion which Julie sent to the Sylph as a 
 pledge of her confidence. 
 
 "J'ai envoy^ ce matin au cafe d'Anderton, 
 le plus elegant medaillon en cheveux que vous 
 ayez jamais vu. Le medaillon est de la forme 
 et grandeur du bracelet que je vous ai envoye; 
 le sujet, un autel sur lequel sont inscrits ces 
 mots : d la Heconnoissance ; une figure elegante 
 de femme a genoux, presentant son offrande, 
 et un petit cherubin aile, qui porte I'encens 
 vers le ciel ; une legere tresse de cheveux a peu 
 
 i"irn matin que j'errois sur ces montagnes au front 
 casque de nuages." Note: "expression de Shakespeare 
 dans la Tempgte, 'cloud-capt,' " p. 5. 
 
 "Je fls done comme la Patience sur un Tombeau." 
 Note: "autre image de Shakespeare," p. 7. 
 
 2 There seems to be a reminiscence of the Italian cicisbeo 
 in the following passage : 
 
 " Lord Bidulphe est oe que Lady Besfort appelle mon 
 sigisbee : c'est k dire qu'il se charge de m'aocompagner en 
 public, de faire approcher ma chaise, de me faire passer 
 des rafraichissements, etc., mais je vous assure que tout cela 
 ne le rend pas plus agr^able a mes yeux." 
 
122 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 pres de la largeur d'un petit ruban est attachee 
 a chaque c8te du medaillon vers le haut par 
 trois brillians et un anneau en diamans, par o^ 
 Ton peut le suspendre h un ruban. Je vous 
 assure que cela est extremement joli." 
 
 A more cheerful, although a less ingenious 
 story, is the Memoires interessans par une 
 Lady, which was published the year of Le 
 Tourneur's death, in 1788.^ It is a tale of the 
 difficulties besetting the course of true love in 
 the history of Louise Seymour and the young 
 Lord Henry Hastings. Their fathers had been 
 lifelong friends, they themselves childhood 
 playmates, and, at the opening of the story, 
 they live at adjacent country seats in England. 
 Misfortunes soon come to trouble their dream of 
 happiness. Louise's father dies, her fortune is 
 lost, and her mother becomes a hopeless invalid. 
 Louise and her mother start for France to spend 
 a winter at St. Germain-en-Laye, in a vain hope 
 to restore Mrs. Seymour's health. At Dover 
 they meet Mrs. Stanhope and her son, bent 
 upon a similar errand, and Stanhope naturally 
 
 1 Memoires intiressans par une Lady, traduits de I'An- 
 glois par feu M. Le Tourneur, Londres et Paris, 1788, 
 2 vols, environ, 400 pp. 
 
MINOR TRANSLATIONS 123 
 
 loses no time in falling in love with the amiable 
 Louise. 
 
 In the meantime, the father and mother of 
 Lord Hastings plan a splendid match for their 
 son with the rich and charming Lady Charlotte 
 Villiers. After the death of Mrs. Seymour, 
 which occurs the following year, Louise goes 
 to make her home in the family of Lord Hast- 
 ings. She meekly accepts her fate, makes 
 friends with her rival, and prepares to pine 
 away, faithful to her love for Henry. By 
 means of a letter and a portrait (his own), which 
 he surprises Louise one day in the act of kissing, 
 Henry is led to believe that she loves another, 
 and, in despair, hastens to drown his grief in 
 foreign travel. Louise, who realizes his mis- 
 take, is too proud to disabuse him. Henry is 
 summoned home, after a decent interval, by the 
 death of his father, and one day shortly after 
 this sad event he is begged by his mother, who 
 notices the young girl's pallor and weakness, to 
 take Louise for a walk. They reach a bench 
 in the garden and sit down to rest. Then there 
 is a long and embarrassing silence, which is, at 
 length, broken by the arrival of the climax of 
 the story. 
 
124 PIEERB LE TOURNEUE 
 
 " Enfia le jeune Lord, levant les yeux et les 
 fixant sur Louise d'un air timide etrespectueux: 
 ' 0, Miss Seymour,' dit-il, ' la tranquillite dont 
 vous paroissez jouir a present est-elle une preuve 
 que tous les obstacles qui s'opposoient a votre 
 bonheur sont enfin detruits ? et pourrois-je 
 esp&er?" — VoLIL p. 208. 
 
 Louise is so overcome with emotion at his first 
 words that she faints in the arms of her lover. 
 He unfastens her mantle to give her air, and, in 
 his agitation, pulls out his portrait which she 
 wore around her neck. Explanations ensue, and 
 " la conversation qui suivit cette interessante 
 scene fut d^licieuse pour ces heureux amans." 
 
 All is easily and happily arranged; Lady 
 Charlotte obligingly becomes engaged to Lord 
 Lester, and Lord Stanhope who, ever since he 
 met Louise at Dover, has been hovering uncer- 
 tainly but faithfully in the background, now 
 mysteriously disappears altogether. This simple 
 but inartistic method of disposing of obstacles 
 grated upon the critical sense of Le Tourneur, 
 who protested vigorously and naively in a note 
 at the end of the translation. ^ 
 
 iNote da Traducteur: "Je suis vraiment fort en peine 
 du pauvre Sir Stanhope. Apr6s lui avoir fait jouer un rOle 
 
MINOR TRANSLATIONS 125 
 
 The story is told partly in narrative, partly 
 by letters. There are pleasant glimpses of St. 
 Germain-en-Laye and of St. Cyr, where Louise 
 spent a winter as pensionnaire, and the French 
 translation reads pleasantly and smoothly. 
 
 Le Tourneur's greatest achievement in the 
 translation of novels was his version of Clarissa 
 Harlowe, which appeared in 1785.^ Unfortu- 
 nately for the increase of his fame, he cannot be 
 said to have introduced Richardson to Europe, 
 nor even to have made the standard translation 
 of Clarissa. The English novelist had been 
 already well known in France for upwards of 
 thirty years. As early as 1742 Pamela^ was 
 translated by the Abbe Prevost and his version 
 
 assez int^ressant comme amant aussi g^n^reux que malheu- 
 reux, on le laisse, on ne sait comment ni oti. Si j'eusse 
 suivi men inclination, je lui aurois fait un beau sort, pour 
 tranquilliser les lecteurs sur son compte. Pourquoi ne pas, 
 au moins, le faire mourir d'un beau d&espoir ? Je suis per- 
 suade que cet incident n'auroit pas 6t6 le moins estim6 dans 
 I'DUvrage, ces catastrophes plaisent beaucoup k nos lecteurs 
 de romans ; et plus il y a de morts tragiques le long d'un 
 reman, plus le livre a d'int6r§t, et est sfir de faire fortune." 
 
 1 Clarisse Harlowe, traduction nouvelle et seule com- 
 plete, par M. Le Tourneur, Paris et Genfeve,' 1785, 10 
 vols, in 8vo. 
 
 2 Pamela, ou, la Vertu recompensee, traduit de I'anglois, 
 Londres, 1742, 
 
126 PIERKE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 of Clarissa appeared in 1751.^ Europe had gone 
 wild over Clarissa as it was to do later over 
 Young and Ossian. Richardson's admirable 
 pictures of manners, his seriousness, his pathos, 
 and, above all, his morality and his sentimental- 
 ity, struck at once a responsive chord in France. 
 His great popularity was largely instrumental 
 in preparing the way for the revolution in taste 
 which made possible the reception and success 
 of the Nouvelle Heloise, and the appreciation of 
 sentimental and melancholy literature.^ 
 
 Prevost's translation, however, was far from 
 complete or even accurate. He announced 
 boldly in the preface, " par le droit supreme de 
 tout ecrivain qui cherche a plaire dans sa langue 
 naturelle, j'ai change ou supprime ce que je n'ai 
 pas juge conforme a cette vue." For, "depuis 
 vingt ans que la litt^rature Angloise est connue 
 a Paris, on salt que pour s'y faire naturaliser, 
 elle a souvent besoin de ces petites reparations." 
 Nevertheless, "les droits d'un traducteur ne 
 vont pas jusqu'a transformer la substance d'un 
 Livre, en lui pretant un nouveau langage." 
 
 1 Lettres Angloises, ou, Histoire de Olarisse Marlowe, 
 traduit de Panglois, Paris, 1751, 4 vols, in 12mo. 
 
 '' For an account of Richardson in Eranoe, see Texte. 
 
MINOR TRANSLATIONS 127 
 
 This is Le Tourneur's own method, and he 
 might have found here a justification for his 
 treatment of Young. Yet the work of Prevost, 
 with all its actual mistakes, its omissions, 
 inaccuracies, and changes, preserved enough of 
 Richardson's essential character and atmosphere 
 to take Paris by storm and to influence pro- 
 foundly the development of the French novel. 
 Still, in the case of so popular and valuable a 
 work as Clarissa the need was felt of a more 
 complete and faithful translation, and this need 
 Le Tourneur undertook to fill. 
 
 This "aimable et interessante production du 
 genie," he says in the Prospectus, has never been 
 adequately published in France, in regard to 
 type, paper, or illustrations. Accordingly, his 
 edition is a handsome one, in ten large octavo 
 volumes, printed on fine, heavy paper, illustrated 
 with engravings by the celebrated Chodowieki, 
 dedicated to Monsieur, and preceded by Diderot's 
 famous "Eloge de Richardson." In his preface, 
 Le Tourneur is keenly appreciative of Prevost 
 and his work. But he is aghast at the size and 
 number of the omissions made by his predecessor, 
 which would suffice alone to make a new edition, 
 and among which there are scenes and passages 
 
128 PIERRE LE TOURNEDR 
 
 of such power that, in translating them, his own 
 pen has been forced to pause, " noyee dans les 
 larmes." He has not, therefore, attempted to 
 revise the former translation, but has made his 
 own directly from the English edition which 
 had the revision of Richardson himself. He 
 fully recognizes the faults in Prevost's work, 
 but realizes, too, that they are due to haste, not 
 to lack of ability,^ and he adds gracefully, " II 
 a bien fait d'epargner le temps et de se h&ter de 
 produire." 
 
 Le Tourneur's translation proved to be all that 
 he claimed for it : a thorough and careful piece 
 of work, published in a dignified and handsome 
 edition. Throughout the whole ten volumes, 
 he painstakingly enclosed in brackets every 
 word, phrase, line, and page omitted in the trans- 
 lation of his predecessor, so that the now enlight- 
 ened public was able to realize what it had been 
 
 1 " . . . Ses fautes, comme de rendre partout le mot 
 friends par oelui A'' Amis qui est bien sa signification g^n^rale, 
 mais qui signifie aussi parens. (Le f r6re, et la sosur Arabelle 
 6toient bien parens de Clarisse, mais ils n'^toient pas sflre- 
 ment ses amis). . . . Ces fautes fchappoient k sa plume 
 ^16gante et facile, mais rapide et qui couroit vers d'autres 
 productions originales plus flatteuses pour son talent et sa 
 reputation." (Preface.) 
 
MINOR TRANSLATIONS 129 
 
 losing.i Prevost's omissions were many and 
 various, consisting, many times, of a coarse word 
 or expression; again, of a whole paragraph or 
 letter. Among his more important concessions 
 to French taste were the omission of the death 
 of Mrs. Sinclair, Leman's letter to Lovelace, the 
 death of Belton, the episode of Clarissa's coffin, 
 the description of her funeral, and her posthu- 
 mous letters. Le Tourneur inserted all these, 
 together with " I'Examen de quelques objections 
 faites a I'auteur sur la catastrophe et differ- 
 entes parties de cette histoire." 
 
 Both translators quail before the faults of 
 
 1 "Mais pour revenir ^ ma belle coquette, je ne pus sup- 
 porter que la premifere femme qui m'avoit donn6 des ohaines 
 (ohaines de sole d'ailleurs et non pas des ohaines de fer 
 comme celles que je porte aujourd'hui) m'eiit quitt^ pour 
 un petit baronnet: et I'oiseau une fois envois, j'y al attach^ 
 plus de prix que je n'y en avois jamais mis quand je le te- 
 nois en cage et que je pouvois en disposer k mon gr^." — 
 Letter XXXI. Lovelace to Bedford. Le Tourneur, Vol. I. 
 p. 359. 
 
 "Mais pour revenir k ma Coquette, je n' avois pu ^^ sup- 
 poser " que la premifere femme qui m'avoit donn6 des 
 ohaines (ohaines de soie d'aillenrs fort differentes des chalnes 
 de fer que je porte aujourd'hui) m'eut jamais quitt6 pour 
 un autre homme: etlorsque je m'^toisvuahandonn^, j'avois 
 attach^ au faux bien que j'avois perdu, plus de prix que je 
 ne lui avois trouvd dans la possession." — Provost, Vol. I. 
 Part II. p. 35. 
 
130 PIERRE LE TOURNEtTR 
 
 spelling in Joseph Leman's letter and in 
 that of Will Somers, and Le Tourneur declares 
 that " I'orthographe est grossierement defec- 
 tueuse et I'imitation seroit choquante et illisible 
 en frangois." 
 
 Le Tourneur's translation is a better piece of 
 work than that of Prevost ; more complete, more 
 exact, more rapid in movement, more concise in 
 expression. Yet, as might be expected from 
 the length of the work, and the character of the 
 translator, it is not free from errors. It shows, 
 in places, traces of haste, actual mistranslations, 
 and feeble paraphrases. Still, in preserving the 
 atmosphere of Richardson, Le Tourneur is not 
 inferior to his predecessor, as may be seen from 
 a comparison of the two, in Lovelace's well- 
 known lament in Clarissa's apartment after her 
 escape to Hampstead.^ 
 
 ' " I have been traversing her room, meditating, or taking 
 up everything she but touched or used ; the glass she dressed 
 at I was ready to break for not giving me the personal image 
 it was wont to reflect of her whose idea is forever present 
 with me. I call for her, now, in the tenderest, now, in the 
 most reproachful terms, as if within hearing ; wanting her, 
 I want my own soul, at least everything dear to it. What a 
 void in my heart ! What a chillness in my blood, as if its 
 circulation was arrested! From her room to my own, in the 
 dining room, and in and out of every place where I have 
 
MINOR TRANSLATIONS 131 
 
 " Je viens de visiter son appartement, livre 
 
 a mes farouches reflexions et prenant nSanmoins 
 
 avec transport dans mes mains tout ce qu'elle 
 
 a touche, ou ce qu'elle employoit a son usage. 
 
 J^ai 6ti prit d briser le miroir qui lui servoit a 
 
 s'habiller, parce qu'il ne m'a pas prSsente I'image 
 
 qu'il a re§ue tant de fois, et qui m'est pour 
 
 jamais pr&ente. Je I'appelle par son nom, 
 
 comme si elle pouvoit m'entendre : tantSt dans 
 
 les terms les plus tendres, tantfit avec les plus 
 
 vifs reproches. II semble que depuis qu'elle 
 
 me manque, men ame, ou tout ce qui etoit 
 
 capable de me plaire dans la vie, m'ait aban- 
 
 donne! Quel vide dans mon coeur! quel froid 
 
 dans mes veines! La circulation de mon sang 
 
 s'est comme arret^e ! Je retourne sans cesse sur 
 
 mes pas, de ma chambre a la sienne, je vais, 
 
 je viens, j'entre dans la salle a manger, dans 
 
 tous les lieux ou je me rappelle d'avoir vu la 
 
 bieriraimee de mon cceur. Mais je ne peux 
 
 m^arrSter longtems dans aucun. Son aimable 
 
 image fond cruellement sur mois et me la montre 
 
 dans quelque attitude vive ou je crois la voir 
 
 encore, et me rappeler nos differens entretiens." — 
 
 seen the beloved of my heart do I hurry, in none can I 
 tarry ; her lovely image in every one, in some lively attitude, 
 rushing cruelly upon me." — Ed. Ballant, Vol. I. p. 266. 
 
132 PIERRE LE TOURNBUR 
 
 Lovelace to Belford, June 8. Le Tourneur, 
 Vol. V. p. 602. 
 
 "Je viens de visiter son appartement, livre 
 h mes farouches reflexions, et portant neanmoins 
 d ma louche, tout ce qu'elle a touche, ou ce 
 qu'elle emplojoit a son usage. J'ai brise le 
 miroir qui lui servoit a s'habiller, parce qu'il 
 ne m'a pas represents I'image, qu'il a re9ue tant 
 de fois et qui m'est pour jamais presente. Je 
 I'appelle par son nom, comme si elle pouvoit 
 m'entendre : tant6t dans des termes passionnSs, 
 tantot avec les plus vifs reproches. II semble 
 que depuis qu'elle me manque, mon km.e ou 
 tout ce qui etoit capable de me plaire dans la 
 vie m'ait cruellement abandonne. Quel vide 
 dans mon coeur! Quel froid dans mes veines! 
 La circulation de mon sang s'est comme arretee ! 
 Je retourne sans cesse sur mes pas, de ma 
 chambre a la sienne ; j'entre dans la salle a 
 manger. Mes regards s'attachent sur tous les 
 lieux ou je me rappelle d'avoir vu les delices de 
 mon coeur. Mais Us ne peuvent s'y fixer long- 
 terns. Son aimable image me frappe aussitot 
 dans quelque attitude ou je crois la voir encore, 
 et qui fait saigner toutes mes plaies." — Prevost, 
 Vol. V. p. 133. 
 
MINOR TRANSLATIONS 133 
 
 In spite of its superiority and completeness, 
 the translation of Le Tourneur failed to super- 
 sede that of Prevost, whose shorter version was 
 already well known and continued to be read. 
 It was frequently reprinted, while that of Le 
 Tourneur had only reached a second edition in 
 1802. The majority of readers found Richard- 
 son's novel long enough in the earlier transla- 
 tion and were glad to be spared the coarse 
 expressions, bizarre episodes, and many repeti- 
 tions which had disappeared under Prevost's 
 chastening pen. The Annie LittSraire ex- 
 pressed the general opinion in a long editorial 
 in 1786, when it questioned the wisdom of 
 spending time and talent on the scrupulously 
 accurate translation of a work which it was just 
 as well to know in an abridged form.^ 
 
 1 " On ne peut qu'applaudir k I'infatigable activity de 
 M. Le Tourneur, qui, k peine ddlass^ de sa traduction 
 de Shakespeare a entrepris et ex&ut^ incessamment celle 
 de Clarisse. On ne I'accusera point de se consumer sur des 
 ferivains m^diocres et peu dignes de ses talens et du public. 
 Young, Shakespeare et Richardson, les deux derniers sur- 
 tout, sont peut-§tre les plus grands g^nles de I'Angleterre. 
 On peut encore moins lui faire le reproche de les avoir foible- 
 ment retracfe ; les Nuits (VToung feront &, jamais honneur 
 k sa fidflite et k son feergie : un peu trop d'' exactitude et 
 d' assujettissement an teocte et au genie de Shakespeare, est 
 le seul defaut dont on pourroit taxer son traducteur : mais 
 
134 PIERRE LE TOURNEUK 
 
 This has continued to be the modern feeling 
 in France, for down to the present day with 
 one exception ^ no other complete translation 
 of Clarissa has been offered to the public. 
 Those who cared to know Richardson in his 
 entirety went, like Diderot, to the original 
 English; those who did not, contented them- 
 selves with the translation of Prevost^ or of 
 
 outre que ce d^faut est rachet6 d'ailleurs par mille quality 
 estimables, il paroit que cela tient 4, nn principe de M. Le 
 Tourneur, qui se pique de rendre exactement les Auteurs 
 Anglois, tels qu'ils sont. C'est cette mgme raison qui I'a 
 dftermin^ ^ donner une nouvelle traduction, une traduction 
 complfete d'un ouvrage dont I'Abb^ Provost avoit jug6 k 
 propos d'^laguer une infinite de traits. L'Abb6 Provost a 
 pu avoir raison. M. Le Tourneur peut n'avoir pas tort. 
 C'est au public ^ juger entre ces deux estimables traducteurs ; 
 ou ce qui'vaut encore mieux que de juger, k applaudir k 
 I'un et k I'autre, et k profiter des veilles de tons deux : 
 pour nous, nous ne pouvons qu'exciter M. Le Tourneur k 
 poursuivre son entreprise, afin de passer de cette traduction 
 k quelqu'autre. Nous aimons tant k tenir les ouvrages An- 
 glois de sa main." — Annee Litteraire, 1786, Vol. II. p. 233. 
 
 1 Olarisse Sarlowe, traduction nouvelle et seule com- 
 plete par M. Barr6, Paris, 1845, 4 vols, in 8vo. 
 
 2 Provost's translation did not contain the name of Rich- 
 ardson, and it is possible that Alfred de Musset had read 
 this translation instead of Le Toumeur's, and was, therefore, 
 led into the error of attributing the creation of Lovelace to 
 Robertson : 
 
 " VoilJi I'homme d'un sifecle, et I'^toile polaire 
 Sur qui les ^coliers flxent leurs yens ardents, 
 
MINOR TRANSLATIONS 135 
 
 Janin, who made a shortened version in 
 1846.1 
 
 Le Tourneur's "some other" translation, 
 which the AnnSe LittSraire had urged him to 
 make, was of an entirely different character 
 from his recent work. He essayed a render- 
 ing of Italian poetry. The Choix cPMSgies 
 de VArioste contains twenty elegies and a dozen 
 or so of the short Latin poems. ^ They are re- 
 arranged and renumbered in an order of his own 
 choosing, and each, furthermore, receives a title 
 indicating its subject. A few stanzas from 
 Ariosto's ninth elegy will sufficiently indicate 
 Le Tourneur's power as an interpreter of 
 Italian. He has called it La FidSlitS, and it 
 appears as number five in his collection. 
 
 " Qual son, qual sempre f ui, tal esser voglio, 
 Alto, o basso fortuna che mi ruote, 
 O siami Amor benigno, o m^'usi orgoglio. 
 
 L'homme dent Jiohertson fera le commentaire, 
 Qui donnera sa vie k lire k nos enfants." 
 
 — Namouna, Chant II. 
 
 1 Clarisse Marlowe, de Samuel Richardson, par Jules 
 Janin, Paris, 1846. 
 
 2 Ohoix W Elegies de VArioste, traduites de I'ltalien par 
 M. Le Tourneur, Secretaire ordinaire de Monsieur, frfere du 
 Roi, et Censeur Royal, Paris, 1785, 131 pp. (Privil. 12 d6- 
 oembre 1784.) 
 
1S6 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 "lo son di Tera fede immobil cote 
 Che'l vento indarno, indarno il flusso altemo 
 Dei pelago d'Amor sempre percuote. 
 
 "'N4 giammai per bonaccia, n^ per Verno 
 Di 1^, dove il destin mi fermb prima, 
 Luogo mutai, ni m.uter6 in eterno. 
 
 " VedT6 prima salir verso la cima 
 Dell' alpi i flumi, e s' aprirk il diamante 
 Con legno, o piombo, e non con altra lima. 
 
 " Che possa il mio destin mover le piante, 
 Se non per gire a voi : cbe possa ingrato 
 Sdegno d'Amor rompermi il cor constante." * 
 
 "Que la roue de la fortune m'^leve ou m'a- 
 baisse, que I'amour me sourie ou me dedaigne ; 
 telle que je fus, telle je suis, telle je veux tou- 
 jours etre. Constante dans ma foi, je suis I'im- 
 muable rocher que le vent et le flux at reflux de 
 la mer battent sans relacbe et toujours en vain. 
 Fix6e pour toujours ou mes destins m'ont arre- 
 tee, jamais ni les douceurs du calme, ni les fu- 
 reurs de la tempete ne pourront m'en deplacer. 
 Je verrai les fleuves des Alpes remonter, s'elan- 
 cer vers leur cime et la lime du plomb mordre 
 sur le dur diamant, avant que le sort puisse me 
 forcer h faire un pas qui ne me conduise vers 
 
 1 Ariosto, Opere Vane, Paris, 1776, Vol. III. p. 95. 
 
MINOR TRANSLATIONS 137 
 
 toi, avant que les dedains ingrats de I'amour 
 brisent la Constance de mon coeur fidele." ^ 
 
 The French rendering is tolerably correct 
 and correspondingly colorless. The music and 
 the harmony of the Italian lines are gone, and 
 only the skeleton has been transferred, leaving 
 behind the grace and beauty of the living soul 
 of poetry. It is possible that Le Tourneur was 
 himself conscious of the almost insuperable dif- 
 ficulties of his undertaking, for with the excep- 
 tion of a few sonnets and " Le Cinque Canti," 
 published in lie Jardin Anglois, he gave up 
 further attempts at translating Italian poetry. 
 
 For the three remaining years of his life, he 
 devoted himself to the translation of works of 
 travel and adventure. Two of these were ac- 
 counts of explorations, one in the northern, the 
 other in the southern, sea. The latter is the 
 story of a journey to the Cape of Good Hope and 
 a voyage in the Antarctic Sea, related by Andre 
 Sparrman, director of the royal cabinet of Nat- 
 ural History at Stockholm. ^ Sparrman, who, 
 
 1 Ohoix WJ^legies de VArioste, p. 16, EUgie V, La Fide- 
 lite. 
 
 2 Voyage au Cap de Bonne Esperance et autour du Monde 
 avec le Gapitaine Cook, par Andr6 Sparrman. Traduit 
 par M. Le Tourneur, Paris, 1787, 3 vols, in 8vo. 
 
138 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 by his interest in botany, had won the friend- 
 ship of Linnaeus, had, through his friend and 
 cousin, Ekeburg, obtained the nominal position 
 of tutor to the children of an English resident 
 at the Cape. This gave him a long-desired op- 
 portunity to investigate the fauna and flora of 
 southern Africa, and, later, to accompany Cap- 
 tain Cook, and Foster the naturalist, in a voy- 
 age around the world and in the Antarctic Sea. 
 His journal of these years embodying the results 
 of his investigations, embellished with many 
 plates and maps, was published, first in Swedish, 
 and then in English in 1785.^ Le Tourneur 
 worked from the English translation,^ and his 
 rendering suffers from apparent haste and care- 
 lessness. To increase the size of the French 
 edition, he inserted Smeatman's treatise on 
 white ants, in Vol. II. ; and in Vol. III. Middle- 
 ton's essay on the Caffirs. He wrongly states 
 in the preface that Sparrman died in 1778, and 
 the whole translation abounds in inaccuracies. 
 A single amusing example will show him at his 
 worst. 
 
 1 A Voyage to the Cape of Good Hope, towards the Ant- 
 arctic Polar Circle and round the World, from 1772-1776, 
 by Andrew Sparrman. Translated from the Swedish origi- 
 nal. London, 1785, 2 vols, in 4. 2 Qu^rard. 
 
MINOR TRANSLATIONS 139 
 
 On Sparrman's first journey to Falso Bay to 
 meet the resident whose children he was to 
 tutor, he experienced much inconvenience from 
 his lack of knowledge of the Dutch language. 
 
 " I had made shift," he says, " to pick up a 
 little Gf-erman in my journey from Gottenburg 
 to the Cape, but this was of very little service, 
 either towards my making myself understood 
 in this place, or towards my understanding 
 a Dutchman in his language." — Vol. I. p. 
 14. 
 
 " Je ra^Stois attaehS avec beaucoup de peine," 
 says Le Tourneur, '■^un petit Allemand ^^endsint 
 mon voyage de Gottenburg au Cap, mais il 
 m'etoit peu utile, soit pour faire entendre mes 
 idees aux Hollaudais, soit pour m'expliquer les 
 leurs." Vol. I. p. 9. 
 
 In spite of the shortcomings of the translation, 
 the work was well received, and the faithful 
 AnnSe Litteraire had still only words of praise 
 for its favorite translator. ^ 
 
 1 Tout ce voyage est on ne peut plus int^ressant ... la 
 narration de I'Auteur est enjou^e, son style agrfeble, et n'a 
 sans doute rien pei-du en passant par la plume de M. Le 
 Tourneur qui, Traducteur infatigable, consaore ses veilles ^ 
 enrichir notre langue des bons ouvrages que I'Angleterre a 
 produits." — Annee Litteraire, August, 1787, 
 
140 PIEEKE LE TOUENEUR 
 
 Le Tourneur succeeded better with his selec- 
 tions from Thomas Pennant's Arctic Zoology.^ 
 The Nord du Grlobe ^ is a fairly faithful render- 
 ing of the third volume of Pennant's work, 
 although, true to his method, Le Tourneur 
 changes frequently the order of paragraphs, and, 
 in one or two cases, relegates some of the less 
 interesting material to an Appendix. Pennant 
 had originally intended his work as a study of 
 the zoology of North America, but, " when the 
 fatal and humiliating hour arrived, which de- 
 prived Britain of power, strength, and glory, I 
 felt the mortification which must strike every 
 feeling individual at losing his little share in 
 the boast of ruling over half of the New World. 
 
 I could no longer support my claim of entitling 
 myself its humble Zoologist, yet unwilling to 
 fling away all my labors, do now deliver them 
 to the Public under the title of Arctic Zoology ^^ 
 Accordingly, Pennant added a study of the 
 
 1 Introduction to Arctic Zoology by Thomas Pennant, 
 London, 1784, 1792, 3 vols, in 4to. 
 
 2 Le Nord du Globe, traduit de I'anglois de M. Pennant, 
 Paris, 1789, 2 vols, in 8vo. (Privil. 2 Janvier 1788, approb. 
 
 II novembre 1788.) Translation attributed to Le Tourneur 
 by Qu^rard, Barbier, Biog. Univ. 
 
 ' Preface to Vol. I. 
 
MINOR TRANSLATIONS 141 
 
 fauna and flora of most of the countries of 
 northern Europe, and his work was much es- 
 teemed, not only by naturalists for its accurate 
 observations and descriptions of hitherto un- 
 known plants and animals, but by the general 
 public for the intrinsic interest of the subject 
 and the easy and pleasant style. In a preface 
 full of good sense and keen appreciation of the 
 value of Pennant's work,^ Le Tourneur makes 
 an interesting digression to discuss the differ- 
 ence in meaning in French and English of the 
 word adventurer, the ignoble significance of 
 which, in his own tongue, he considers a matter 
 for sincere regret. Travellers' tales, in general, 
 he declares, lack literary distinction, because 
 the writers are usually more interested in action 
 than in observation. In its exception to this 
 rule lies the value and interest of the Arctic 
 Zoology; for its author is not only an explorer 
 and a naturalist, but a writer and an artist. 
 " Cette description est riche, savante, animee, 
 
 1 Thomas Pennant (1726-1798) was the author of many 
 other works on natural history. He visited Europe in 1765, 
 saw Voltaire at Ferney, and was the guest of Buffon at 
 Montbard in Burgundy. Buffon is said (Cuvier in Biog. 
 Univ.) to have profited by Pennant's ^isfort/ of Quadru- 
 peds, 1781. 
 
142 PIERRE LE TOURNETJE 
 
 et presentee de maniere a satisfaire le goflt 
 autant que la curiosite." > 
 
 The first two volumes of the Arctic Zoology 
 are merely manuals of natural history, consist- 
 ing chiefly of plates, with accompanying de- 
 scriptions, so that the third volume alone, 
 which Le Tourneur translated, presents ma- 
 terial likely to be of interest to the general 
 public. The style is agreeable, the subject un- 
 usual and interesting, and apart from Le 
 Tourneur's little additions,^ which give a 
 personal touch to the coldly scientific narra- 
 tive, the reader of the French translation is 
 faithfully conducted to the islands of Scotland, 
 Iceland, Spitzbergen, Kamschatka, and North 
 America, and may gaze with Pennant's keen, 
 observant eyes upon a world probably but little, 
 if at all, known to him.^ 
 
 1 After an introduction emphasizing the value of the 
 study of physical geography and natural history, Pennant 
 begins, " Let me take my departure northward from the 
 narrow straights of Dover." Le Tourneur, to avoid the 
 abrupt transition, renders, ^'Pleins deces vues, aussi grandes 
 qu'utiles, et guides par le flambeau de V observation et de 
 V experience, prenons notre route vers le Nord, en partant du 
 trfes resserrS d^troit de Douvres." — p. 5. 
 
 2 An idea of Pennant's style in French and English may 
 be seen from the following passages, describing a cavern in 
 Scotland : 
 
MINOR TEANSLATIONS 143 
 
 Two translations of German works occupied 
 the last years of Le Tourneur's life: Riesbeck's 
 
 "The cavern called the Greylit-pot almost realizes in 
 form a fable in the Persian Tales. The hardy adventurer 
 may make a long subterranean voyage with a picturesque 
 scenery of rock above and on every side. He may be rowed 
 in this solemn scene till he finds himself suddenly restored 
 to the sight of the heavens ; he finds himself in a circular 
 chasm open to the day, with a narrow bottom and extensive 
 top, widening at the margin, to the diameter of 200 feet. On 
 attaining the summit, he finds himself at a distance from the 
 sea, amidst cornfields or verdant pastures, with a fine view 
 of the country, and a gentleman's seat near to the place from 
 which he had emerged. Such may be the amusement of the 
 curious in summer calms I but when the storms are directed 
 from the east, the view from the edge of this hollow is tre- 
 mendous, for from the height of above 300 feet they may 
 look down on the furious waves, whitened with foam, and 
 swelling from their confined passage." 
 
 " La caverne nomm^e Greylit-pot realise dans ses formes 
 la fable des Contes Persans. Le curieux hardi pent y faire 
 un long voyage souterrain, ayant &. ses c6t^s et sur sa tete 
 une brillante et pittoresque decoration en rochers. II pent 
 s'y conduire en bateau b, rames, errer au milieu de ces 
 scenes majestueuses et se retrouver, tout k coup, rendu a 
 la lumi6re des cieux. II se voit dans un espace circulaire, 
 d'une etroite entree dont le sommet ouvert au jour, va 
 s'filargissant par degr^s jusqu'^ un diam^tre de 200 pieds. 
 En atteignant le sommet, il se trouve loin de la mer, au mi- 
 lieu de champs converts de pr&, de verts pSturages, avec la 
 vue d'un beau pays, et la maison voisine d'un honn§te habi- 
 tant. Tel est le plaisir dont pent jouir un curieux dans les 
 calmes de I'^t^, mais quaud les orages viennent de la partie 
 de Test, la vue, plongeant du bord de ce trou, de la hauteur 
 
144 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 Letters on Q-ermany ^ and the Memoirs of the 
 Baron de Trench. The first is, as in the case 
 of Sparrman, a translation of an English transla- 
 tion, which appeared in 1787,^ the original 
 German having been published in 1783.^ Ries- 
 beck's German Letters,* written under the dis- 
 guise of a Frenchman, were immensely popular 
 in their day and are still worth reading for their 
 interesting descriptions of manners and customs, 
 for their keen observation, and for the fire 
 and independence of the author which they 
 reveal, and which atone, in large measure, for 
 
 d'environ 300 pieds, vous fait frissoimer en vous montrant 
 aufond, les vagues furieuses, toutes blanchissantes d'^cume, 
 et s'irritant centre le passage qui les resseire." — p. 42. 
 
 ' Voyage en Allemagne, dans une suite de lettres, par M. 
 le Baron de Riesbeck, traduites de I'Anglois, Paris, 1787, 3 
 vols, in 8vo. 
 
 This French translation is wrongly given by Qu6rard as 
 a version of CoUini's Lettres sur les Allemands. This work, 
 however, was not published till 1790 and the letters date 
 from 1786. Riesbeck's work appeared in German in 1783, 
 and his letters began in 1780. Furthermore, CoUini recom- 
 mends Riesbeck to his friend as a useful book on Germany. 
 — (Letter VI. p. 34.) 
 
 2 Travels in Germany, in a Series of Letters, translated 
 by Paul Henry Maty, London, 1787, 3 vols, in 8vo. 
 
 ^ Briefe einer reisenden Franzosen iiber Deutschland, an 
 seinen Bruder an Paris, Zurich, 1783, 2 vols, in 8vo. 
 
 * Gaspar Riesbeck (1705-1786), writer and traveller. 
 Author of Briefe iiber das Monchswesen, Geschichte der 
 Deutschen, etc. 
 
MINOR TRANSLATIONS 145 
 
 the injustice and inaccuracy of some of the 
 statements.^ In his journey from German to 
 English and from English to French, Riesbeck, 
 although an enthusiastic traveller, comes out 
 somewhat enfeebled, shorn of many of his graces, 
 and with less fire than he began his career. 
 But although more serious and staid in French, 
 he is still an agreeable companion with whom 
 to spend an hour, and, even in a foreign tongue, 
 is able to jest at the expense of the learned men 
 of Vienna.^ 
 
 " Vienne fourmille de gens de lettres. Si un 
 homme vous accoste, et que vous ne le reconnois- 
 siez pas a ses mains sales pour un peintre, un 
 forgeron ou un cordonnier, a sa livree pour un 
 
 ■ ^ E.g. concerning the Prussian government and the finan- 
 cial system of England. 
 
 2 There had been two other French translations previous 
 to that of Le Tourneur : 
 
 a. Lettres d'un Voyageur franqois {le haron de -B.) sur 
 VAllemagne, enrichies de notes et de corrections par Ber- 
 tholde Fr^d^ric Haller, patricien de Berne. (HoUande) 
 1785, in 12mo. 
 
 b. Lettres sur VAllemagne, Vienne, 1787, in 12mo. Cited 
 by Barbier, with the following note : " Traduction anonyme 
 et en mauvais frangois mais sans retranchements, des vingt- 
 cinq premieres lettres de I'ouvrage remarquable public par le 
 Baron G. de Eiesbeck sous le titre de Briefe einer reisenden 
 Franzosen," 1783, 2 vols, in 8vo. 
 
146 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 laquais ou a ses beaux habits pour un homme de 
 consequence, vous pouvez etre assure que vous 
 voyez un homme de lettres ou un tailleur, car a 
 Vienne, je n'ai pas encore appris a distinguer 
 I'un de I'autre." i— Vol. I. p. 285. 
 
 The translation of the life of the brilliant and 
 unfortunate Baron de Trenck^ was, however, 
 made directly from the German original.^ As 
 in the case of Clarissa Harlowe, the work of Le 
 Tourneur claimed to be a complete translation, 
 supplementing an abridged version by the Baron 
 de Bock which had appeared the year before.* 
 
 1 In the absence of access to the English translation, the 
 original German may serve as a basis of comparison : 
 
 ' ' Hier wimmelt es von Gelehrten. Wenn dir einer begeg- 
 net denn du nicht an seinen schmiitzigen Handen ansehen 
 kannst, dass er ein Farbe, Schmied, oder Schumacher, oder 
 an der tJniformm dass er ein Laquay, oder am vielen Gold 
 auf den Kleideru dass er ein grossen Herr ist, so kannst du 
 sicher sehen, du hast einen Gelehrten oder einen Schneider 
 vor dir, denn beide Menchenklassen hab ich hier noch nicht 
 recht unterschneiden gelernt." — Briefe einer reisenden 
 Franzosen, Vol. I. p. 344. 
 
 2 La Vie de Frederic, baron de Trenck, traduite de I'Al- 
 lemand par M. Le Tourneur, Berlin, Paris, 1788, 3 vols, 
 in 8vo. 
 
 ' Frederic, baron de Trenck : MerkwUrdige Lebensge- 
 schichte, Berlin, 1787, 3 vols, in 8vo. 
 
 * Vie de Frediric, baron de Trenck, ^crite par lui-mSme 
 and traduite de 1' AUemand en franjais par M. le Baron de 
 B, . . . (Bock), Metz, 1787. 
 
MINOR TRANSLATIONS 147 
 
 The thrilling story of the adventures and im- 
 prisonment of this German Cellini created a 
 great sensation in Paris. Trenck's ^ name was 
 on erery one's lips. A wax figure of him in 
 prison costume and loaded with chains was ex- 
 hibited in the Palais Royal, and a play in which he 
 figured as the hero was presented at the the&tre 
 d'Audinot.2 But in spite of the popularity of 
 the work, the public, always impatient of any 
 tendency to prolixity or repetition, was as well 
 satisfied with the abridged as with the complete 
 translation, and doubted the wisdom of Le 
 Tourneur in attempting to give an entire and 
 complete rendering. " It is often better not to 
 be too faithful in a translation," remarked the 
 Annie Littiraire, " and even now, many people 
 prefer Provost's version of Clarissa Harlowe to 
 
 1 Fr^d^ric, baron de Trenok (1726-1794), in the service of 
 Frederic II. of Prussia, brouglit upon himself that monarch's 
 displeasure by his intrigue with the Princess Am^lie. Im- 
 prisoned for eleven years, first in the fortress of Glatz, then 
 in Magdebourg, he served, after his liberation, Elizabeth of 
 Russia and Maria Theresa of Austria. Retired to Aix-les- 
 Bains, he passed the last years of his life in commerce, liter- 
 ary pursuits, and travel. Wrongly accused of being party 
 to a conspiracy in 1794 he was guillotined July 25, the same 
 day as Andr^ Ch^nier. 
 
 ^ Le Baron de Trenck, ou le prisonnier prussien, Arnoult, 
 Paris, 1788. 
 
148 PIERKE LB TOUENEUR 
 
 the fuller and more complete translation of Le 
 Tourneur."^ 
 
 Le Tourneur's knowledge of German was 
 sufficient to keep him from serious errors in 
 translation, and, as usual, he is faithful in the 
 essential points, inexact and inaccurate in de- 
 tail of word and phrase. His rendering is very 
 readable, and he has well seized Trenck's 
 graphic phrasing, while his native sense of logic 
 and clearness preserves the directness, and 
 sometimes refines the occasional exuberance 
 and haphazard style of the impetuous German. 
 Although claiming to present an absolutely 
 complete translation, Le Tourneur nevertheless 
 omits a few passages, either because of their 
 irreligious spirit, or because of their derogatory 
 attitude towards the French.^ 
 
 1 Annee Litteraire, 1788, Vol. IV. p. 227. 
 
 == An example of the kind of passage -which offended the 
 sensitive Le Tourneur is the f oUowing (the omitted portion is 
 in brackets) : 
 
 " loh fand tausend griinde die mich ilberzeugten, das es 
 nummerro Zeit sei, meinem Leiden ein Ende zu machen. 
 [Und da mich, wie gesagt, nieraand gefragt hatte, ob ich in 
 die Welt kommen und gebohren sein wolte, so glaubte ich 
 auch, wolkoramen berechtigt zusein, gleichfalls ohne jemand 
 zu fragen, dieselbe zu verlassen, so bald mein Hiersein 
 unertraglioh wurde]." — Vol. IL p. 30. 
 
MINOE TRANSLATIONS 149 
 
 Trenck's indomitable spirit and sense of 
 humor enabled him to keep up his hope and 
 courage even under the most severe imprison- 
 ment. Caught in an attempt to escape from 
 Magdebourg, brought back ignominiously, fet- 
 tered with still heavier chains, he vras submitted 
 to a rough and searching cross-questioning as 
 to where he had obtained his tools. Just as 
 the guards and officers were leaving the dun- 
 geon after having vainly examined every corner, 
 Trenck spoke, and his reply is characteristic 
 both of the man and of his style : 
 
 " Messieurs, le diable est mon meilleur ami, il 
 m'apporte tout ce dont j'ai besoin. Nous pas- 
 sons des nuits a jouer au piquet ensemble, et il 
 me fournit de chandelle. Gardez-moi comme 
 vous voudrez, il saura Men me sauver de votre 
 pouvoir. 
 
 " lis etoient tout stupefaits, et cependant les 
 autres rioient ; enfin quand ils eurent tout exa- 
 mine avec la plus grande exactitude, et qu'ils 
 eurent ferme la porte, je m'ecriai, 'Messieurs, 
 revenez, vous avez oublie quelque chose d'impor- 
 tant.' 
 
 " En meme tems je tirai une des limes que 
 j'avois cachees, et quand ils rentrerent, je leur 
 
150 PIERRE LE TOURNEITE 
 
 dis : ' J'ai voulu seulement vous prouver que le 
 diable m'apporte tout ce dont j'ai besoin.' Oa 
 visita de nouveau et on referma. Les quatre 
 serrures n'etoient pas encore fermees, que j'avois 
 d6ja retire un couteau et dix louis d'or." — Vol. 
 11. p. 140. 
 
 " Meine Herren, der Teufel ist mein bester 
 Freund, er bringt mir alles was ich brauche. 
 Wir spielen auch ganze Nachte Picket mit 
 einander, und er bringt mir auch Licht. Sie 
 mogen mich bewachen wie sie woUen, so wird 
 er mich doch aus ihrer Gewalt erretten. 
 
 " Sie erstaunten ; die andern lachten. End- 
 lich da sie alles auf das genaueste durchgesucht 
 und die letze Thiire zugescblossen batten, rief 
 ich : ' Meine Herren ! kehren zie zuriick ! Sie 
 haben etwas Wichtiges vergessen ! ' 
 
 "Indessen zog ich eine versteckte Feile aus 
 dem Boden heraus, und sagte bei ihrem Ein- 
 tritte, ' Ich babe Ihnen nur beweisen woUen, 
 das der Teufel mir alles bringt, was ich bedarf.' 
 Man visitirte wieder — und schloss zu. Unter- 
 dess das man an vier Schlossern arbeitete, hatte 
 ich ein Messer,und 10 Louis d'or hervorgesucht, 
 weil ich mein Geld an verschiedenen Oerten 
 
MINOR TRANSLATIONS 151 
 
 versteckt hatte. Das meiste lag unter dem 
 Boden." —Vol. II. p. 95.) 
 
 Le Jardin Anglok,^ one of the three posthu- 
 mous works 2 of Le Tourneur, stands on the 
 border line between his translations and his 
 original composition. The two volumes which 
 compose the " garden " contain a large number 
 of short selections, some of which are transla- 
 tions, and some, original sketches. In this col- 
 lection are reprinted in complete or abridged 
 form several of his previously published works. ^ 
 The hitherto unpublished translations and 
 sketches include such varied subjects as an essay 
 on Shenstone, a sketch of the history of balloon- 
 ing, the description of two famous criminals, 
 reflections upon capital punishment, and the 
 account of a trip to Normandy. The most note- 
 worthy translations are those of four episodes 
 
 1 Le Jardin Anglois, ou Vari^tds tant originales que tra 
 duites par feu. M. Le Tourneur. Londres et Paris, 1788, 
 2 vols, in 8vo. 
 
 2 Memoirs Interessans, par Une Lady, 1788 ; Le Jardin 
 Anglois, 1788 ; Le Nord du Globe, 1789. 
 
 s Such are ; Discours Moraux, Eloge de Clairaut et de du 
 Muy, La Jeune Fille seduite, one of the Lettres Angloises, 
 a poem of Ossian ( Oathuelina) , an episode omitted from Le 
 Sylphe, several of Ariosto's elegies, and an extract from Le 
 Nord du Globe. 
 
152 PIEKEE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 from Thomson's Seasons, a few extracts from 
 the first and third cantos of Paradise Lost, half 
 a dozen of Shakespeare's sonnets, and seven 
 satires, and the Cinque Canti of Ariosto. 
 
 The work, as a whole, offers nothing remark- 
 able either in intrinsic interest or in literary 
 value. A compilation of a heterogeneous mass 
 of material, it is one of those collections due to 
 the zeal of friends who wish to publish every- 
 thing that ever came from their author's pen. 
 In this case, such often misdirected effort was 
 without effect. Le Tourneur's Le Jardin 
 Anglois has quietly gone the way of most of his 
 other works and is now of value chiefly for the 
 sake of the biographical sketch which serves as 
 preface. 
 
 Of the dozen translations which occupied the 
 later years of Le Tourneur's life, Clarissa Har- 
 lowe is the most important and the best known. 
 A few of the others, notably The Sylph, the 
 Life of Trench, and the Letters of Riesbeck, are 
 still worth reading. The rest, except for their 
 interest in the study of literary development, 
 hardly deserve a different fate from the ob- 
 livion into which they have fallen. Never- 
 theless, at the time of their production, they 
 
MINOR TRANSLATIONS 153 
 
 served their purpose well, of increasing lit- 
 erary cosmopolitanism in France; and viewed 
 in this light, these minor translations of Le 
 Tourneur have an appreciable interest and 
 value. 
 
V. THE TRANSLATOR OF SHAKE- 
 SPEARE 
 
 The conservatism of French taste and the 
 slow growth of literary cosmopolitanism in 
 France are nowhere more clearly shown than in 
 the appreciation of Shakespeare. For over a 
 hundred years after his death, the English poet 
 was almost unknown in France, and a hundred 
 and sixty passed before the appearance of a 
 complete translation of his works. Le Tour- 
 neur's translation, the first volumes of which 
 appeared in 1776, occupies a unique position, 
 not only by reason of the curious literary 
 warfare which it excited, but also because it 
 marked the beginning of a new and distinct 
 epoch in the development of dramatic taste. A 
 brief consideration of the appreciation of Shake- 
 speare previous to the appearance of this work 
 will indicate the importance of the part played 
 by Le Tourneur in the literary revolution which 
 164 
 
THE TRANSLATOR OF SHAKESPEARE 155 
 
 took place at the close of the eighteenth cen- 
 tury. 
 
 In France, in the seventeenth century, Eng- 
 lish was as little known and studied as Chinese is 
 to-day. The knowledge of English literature was 
 confined to a few travellers and playwrights, 
 and these were men like St. Evremond and 
 La Fosse, who had lived in England and had 
 become acquainted with its drama as much by 
 accident as by design. Throughout the entire 
 hundred years, only a few scattered references 
 to Shakespeare are to be found, slight and un- 
 important notices of him, destined to be forgotten 
 as soon as made. Yet, significantly enough, 
 his works formed a part of the libi'aries of two 
 of the most eminent men of whom the century 
 could boast : the king, Louis XIV. and his great 
 minister, Fouquet.^ The word of comment by 
 Nicholas Clement, the royal librarian, in his 
 catalogue of books which was finished in 1684, 
 represents, not only the first written appreciation 
 of Shakespeare in France, but expresses, in its 
 
 1 For a detailed account of Shakespeare in France, see 
 Shakespeare in France under the Old Regime, by J. J. 
 Jusserand, London, 1899, and L^Influence de Shakespeare 
 sur le The&tre Franf^ais, par Albert Laoroix, Bruxelles, 
 1856. 
 
156 PIERRE LE TOURNEUB 
 
 essence, the general feeling about him which 
 was to persist until well into the nineteenth 
 century. 
 
 " Ce poete anglois a I'imagination assez belle, 
 il pense naturellement, ils'exprime avec finesse; 
 mais ces belles qualites sent obscureies par les 
 ordures qu'il mele dans ses comedies."^ 
 
 But with the opening of the new century, the 
 wave of cosmopolitanism, of interest in England 
 and English literature, which was a little later 
 to sweep Over France with irresistible force, began 
 to make itself felt. The study of English be- 
 came more common. Numerous translations 
 appeared, and French versions of Milton, Pope, 
 Swift, Addison, and Defoe aroused interest in 
 foreign literature, stimulated curiosity, and pro- 
 voked criticism. Guide-books, essays, descrip- 
 tions of England multiplied, and a trip across 
 the Channel became part of a liberal education. 
 
 It was Destouches who made the first attempt 
 to translate Shakespeare into French. He went 
 to London in 1717 and spent six years in Eng- 
 land. There he made a study of the English 
 drama. He saw the Tempest, and was so im- 
 
 1 Cited by Jusserand, Shakespeare in France, London, 
 1899, p. 171. 
 
THE TEANSLATOE OF SHAKESPEAEE 157 
 
 pressed by its strangeness and beauty that he 
 rendered several scenes from it into French 
 verse. In his own plays, notably he Dissipateur ^ 
 (1738), he showed traces of the influence of the 
 English stage, and in the dedicatory letter which 
 preceded his translations from the Tempest he 
 spoke boldly and appreciatively of Shakespeare's 
 method and the freedom of the English drama.^ 
 Curiously enough, he seemed to be content with 
 these fragments, for he made no further trans- 
 
 1 An echo of Timon of Athens in the conception of certain 
 scenes and in its mingling of comic and serious. 
 
 2 "Ces scfenes si int^ressantes, si naives et d'un goflt si 
 singulier et si touoliant, sont extraites d'une com^die in- 
 titul^e, La Tempete, pifece tonjours tr6s suivie en Angleterre 
 quoiqu'il s'en faille infiniment qu'elle soit r^gulifere ; mais 
 en ce pays-1^ I'irr^gularit^ n'est qu'une perfection. 
 
 "L'argument tient fort du merveilleux et encore plus du 
 bizarre. C'est d'une magie perp^tuelle. Et quels incidents 
 ne peut-on pas amener par la force de la magie ! Que nous 
 serions heureux en oe pays-ci, nous autres auteurs comiques, 
 si on vouloit nous permettre de nous servir d'un art si 
 commode ! que de belles choses ne ferions nous point ? . . . 
 Mais dfes que nous voulons prendre notre imagination pour 
 module, on nous siffle Impitoyablement et franchement, cela 
 est fort incommode et fort malhonngte. Mais c'est le gout 
 de la nation. Jugez comment elle auroit regu la pifece dont 
 voici le sujet ! " — CE'MJires, Paris, 1822, Tome V. p. 498 
 (Sofenes angloises). 
 
 The translation of Destouches was made from the Tem- 
 pest of Dryden and Davenant. 
 
158 PIEKRE LE TOURNEUE 
 
 lations or other attempts to make his discovery 
 of Shakespeare more generally known. 
 
 Destouches's criticism is significant, for he 
 represents one of the first of the eighteenth-cen- 
 tury school of reaction against the canons of 
 the French classic drama. About the same time 
 Houdard de la Motte felt and expressed the 
 need of reform in the national drama, and ad- 
 vised such radical changes as the abolition of 
 the monologue and the confidant, the suppression 
 of long and useless r Salts, and the preservation 
 of one only of the three unities, that of interest.^ 
 These protests were the revival of the old quarrel 
 of the Ancients and the Moderns, begun as far 
 back as the time of Alexander Hardy, lulled to 
 rest by the superb work of Corneille, Racine, and 
 Moliere, and now, before the mediocre drama of 
 their successors and imitators, breaking out 
 afresh with renewed force and power. Houdard 
 de la Motte, however, was not great enough, 
 either as a man or as a dramatist, to carry out 
 his reforms in a large and poetic manner or to 
 impose them upon a public, weary indeed of the 
 
 ■■ Houdard de la Motte, CEuvres, Paris, 1754, "Vol. IV. ; 
 Disoours sur la Tragedie a V occasion des Machabees; Dis- 
 cours sur la Tragedie a I'occasion de Homule, d''Ines. 
 
THE TRANSLATOR OF SHAKESPEARE 159 
 
 old forms, but too conservative readily to adopt 
 the new. His attempts at dramatic reform, 
 moreover, were promptly crushed by Voltaire, 
 v7ho, in his preface to (Edipe in 1729, defended 
 the cause of the sacred unities and cleverly de- 
 molished the arguments of Houdard de la 
 Motte. To Voltaire himself, as he often boasted, 
 belongs the honor of having made the name of 
 Shakespeare familiar to France. During his 
 three years' residence in England he became 
 acquainted with the English drama and wit- 
 nessed performances of some of Shakespeare's 
 plays. He was much impressed and greatly in- 
 terested by what he saw and learned of the Eng- 
 lish poet, and his own dramatic work for the 
 next ten years showed undoubted traces of the 
 influence of Shakespeare. But Voltaire did 
 more than imitate and adapt Shakespeare. He 
 translated a few passages, and hastened to call 
 the attention of France and French dramatists 
 to his strange and wonderful discovery. He was 
 at once attracted and repelled by Shakespeare. 
 Profoundly impressed as he was by his genius 
 and power, shocked by his disregard of the 
 unities, by his mingling of the comic and the 
 tragic, by his scenes of violence and by his 
 
160 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 grossness, Voltaire's judgment of him was that 
 of a conservative born and bred in the worship 
 of French classic tragedy as the most perfect 
 standard of excellence. His first fetling was 
 not unlike that of Nicholas Clement nearly fift}' 
 years before : 
 
 " II avait un genie plein de force et de fecon- 
 dite, de naturel et de sublime, sans la moindre 
 etincelle de bon gout et sans la moindre connais- 
 sance des regies." ^ After the first feeling of 
 astonishment came the keen and appreciative 
 judgment which Voltaire manifested throughout, 
 until the fatal moment when he thought he saw 
 himself dethroned by the very man he had 
 patronized and befriended. 
 
 " Le genie poetique des Anglais ressemble 
 jusqu'a present a un arbre touffu plante par la 
 nature, jetant au hasard ses mille rame;iux, et 
 croissant inegalement avec force. II meurt si 
 vous voulez forcer sa nature et le tailler en 
 arbre des jardins de Marly." ^ 
 
 This was the opinion to which, in the famous 
 Lettres PhilosopMques, in the prefaces to his 
 
 1 Lettres Philosophiques : Lettre sur La Tragedie, Paris, 
 1734. 
 
THE TRANSLATOR OF SHAKESPEARE 161 
 
 plays, in almost everything he said and wrote, 
 Voltaire gave utterance in his honest and im- 
 partial judgment of Shakespeare, before he be- 
 came blinded by fear, jealousy, and passion.^ 
 
 Encouraged by Voltaire, the literary world of 
 France hastened to extend its knowledge of 
 English literature in general, and of Shake- 
 speare in particular. In 1730 Montesquieu, 
 travelling in England, wrote that he had 
 conversed with the queen concerning Shake- 
 speare and the English theatre, and noted 
 the difference between the two dramatic sys- 
 tems.^ 
 
 Anglomania was rapidly gaining ground in 
 France. In the ridicule cast upon it in a 
 comedy called La FrivoUtS Voltaire might have 
 seen a shadow of the coming storm. 
 
 1 For the whole subject of Shakespeare and Voltaire, see 
 Voltaire and Shakespeare, Thomas Lounsbury, London, 
 1902 ; Shakespeare in France, J. J. Jusserand, London, 
 1899 ; ^Influence de Shakespeare sur le TheUtre Franqais, 
 Albert Lacroix, Bruxelles, 1856. 
 
 2 "Les Anglois sont des g^nies singuliers, ils n'imiteront 
 pas les anciens qu'ils admirent. Leurs pieces ressemblent 
 bien inoins mSme k des productions r§guliferes de la nature, 
 qu'^ ces jeux danslesquels elle a suivi deshasards heureux." 
 — Pens^es diverses (Euvres, Paris, 1819, Vol. VII. pp. 265- 
 279.' 
 
162 PIERRE LE TOUKNEUR 
 
 " Son transport I'autre jour, ^toit I'anglomanie. 
 Rien, sans I'habit anglois, ne pouvoit reussir ; 
 Au-dessus de Comeille, il mettoit Sakespir." i 
 
 A little later, in 1738, the Abbe Prevost, who 
 had already visited England, devoted entire 
 numbers of his periodical, Le Pour et le Contre, 
 to Shakespeare. He gave analyses of several 
 plays: Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello, and declared 
 boldly that these dramas were all the better for 
 not having preserved the unities or followed 
 the ancients. Other eminent men began to 
 busy themselves with Shakespeare, and Ricco- 
 boni's account,^ and the letters of the Abbe Le 
 Blanc,* help to swell the testimony to the in- 
 creased interest in the English poet. But, as 
 yet, no translation existed. Every one talked 
 about him, but no one knew him except by hear- 
 say or from reading the few scenes rendered by 
 Destouches and Voltaire. Every one had ideas. 
 Very few had any actual knowledge. Yet it 
 
 1 Cited by Hippolyte Lucas in his Histoire du TheUtre 
 Franqais, Paris, 1862, p. 56, Vol. II. La Frivolite, com^die 
 en un acte et en vers par M. Boissy, Paris, 1753. The lines 
 are spoken by M. Fauster, Suisse, Scene 4, p. 28. 
 
 2 Beflexions Historiques et Critiques sur les Diffirens 
 Theatres de V Europe, Louis Riccoboni, Paris, 1738, in 8vo. 
 
 ^ Lettres d'un Francois, La Haye, 1745, 3 vols. 
 
THE TRANSLATOE OF SHAKESPEARE 163 
 
 was not till 1745 that the necessity or desir- 
 ability of any kind of a translation, by means of 
 which one might get at least a second-hand ac- 
 quaintance with Shakespeare, seemed to be felt. 
 In that year, however, as the result of the auda- 
 cious idea of a French version of some of his 
 plays, Antoine de La Place published a ThSdtre 
 Anglois, four volumes of which were devoted to 
 the plays of Shakespeare.^ Thus, a hundred 
 and fifty years had passed since the time that 
 Shakespeare wrote, before any attempt was made 
 to translate his works into French, and the 
 ignorance concerning him during this century 
 and a half was almost boundless. 
 
 In England, on the other hand, there was a 
 fair acquaintance with the dramatic literature 
 of France.^ The plays of Corneille were trans- 
 lated and acted, especially Le Cid, which was 
 performed before Charles I. and Henrietta in 
 1637. Moliere and Racine, though less well 
 known, were yet sufficiently popular. Le Tar- 
 tuffe was played at Drury Lane in 1670, and 
 
 1 Le Thettre Anglois (Pierre Antoine de La Place), 
 Paris et Londres, 1745, 8 vols. 
 
 2 See Corneille and Racine in England, by Dorothea I". 
 Canfleld, New York, 1904. 
 
164 PIEERE LE TOURNEUE 
 
 Andromaque, under the title of the Distressed 
 Mother, was performed in 1712. 
 
 The late growth and slow development of the 
 knowledge and appreciation of English litera- 
 ture in France up to the middle of the eighteenth 
 century is, at first sight, surprising, but a closer 
 examination of existing conditions suggests at 
 least a few of the underlying causes. Among 
 these may be noted the late development of the 
 French drama, the conservatism of the people, 
 and the difficulties of adequate and accurate 
 translation. The first two of these are natural 
 and obvious. As the golden age of French 
 drama was a century later than that of England, 
 it was inevitable that dramatic criticism should 
 also be a century behind, and that not until the 
 French drama reached a position of influence 
 and power could dramatic appreciation be other 
 than feeble. The reaction towards culture and 
 refinement after the intestine and foreign wars 
 of the sixteenth century increased the natural 
 conservatism of the people, by concentrating 
 their interest upon the development of French 
 literature, and thus delayed their reaching out 
 after a knowledge of English drama. Further- 
 more, whatever curiosity existed about foreign 
 
THE TRANSLATOR OP SHAKESPEARE 165 
 
 literature was fully satisfied, at least for a time, 
 by an acquaintance with the drama of Italy and 
 Spain. By this the French were profoundly and 
 not unwillingly influenced, for, after all, these 
 countries had the same racial characteristics as 
 themselves, while the English were then, as 
 ever, irremediably and hopelessly alien. 
 
 But by far the greatest and most important 
 obstacle to the early and rapid development of 
 the appreciation of English literature was the 
 difficulty of translation, a difficulty so great as 
 to be almost insurmountable, and which, even 
 at the present day, hampers the entire compre- 
 hension of the one nation by the other. It is 
 the difficulty of translating a Teutonic tongue 
 into a Latin, where the turn of the phrase, the 
 words, the sounds, are entirely different. A 
 literal translation is a sacrilege; a paraphrase, an 
 untruth. One has only to glance at these early 
 attempts to translate Shakespeare into equiva- 
 lent French to be convinced of the inadequacy 
 of the French tongue to express the conceptions 
 of the Teutonic mind. It is the difficulty expe- 
 rienced by a nation of the South when striving 
 to understand a nation of the North. France, 
 by her proximity to Italy, received the impress 
 
166 PIERRE LE TODRNEUR 
 
 of its passionate expression, its susceptibility to 
 beauty in sound, in light, in color. England, 
 like other northern nations, compressed its pas- 
 sion, no less intense, into fewer words, and found 
 a beauty no less noble, in the more subdued col- 
 oring of its northern landscapes. Thus it is 
 that by reason of subtle differences in tempera- 
 ment, surroundings, and training, many phases 
 and sentiments of the English mind have no 
 equivalent in the French tongue, and an accu- 
 rate translation becomes well-nigh impossible. 
 This is particularly true of a translation of po- 
 etry. Philarete Chasles puts the truth quaintly 
 when he says : 
 
 " Le plupart des traducteurs ont fait parler a 
 Shakespeare une prose faible, bizarre, souvent 
 inintelligible, puis, appelant ce Shakespeare ainsi 
 accoutre a la barre de leur tribunal, iis Font 
 condamne gravement et sans appel. H61as ! ce 
 n'est plus Shakespeare, c'est le critique et sa 
 prose." ^ 
 
 These causes explain, in part, the late intro- 
 duction of Shakespeare into France, and the 
 first translation fully justifies the criticism of 
 Chasles. La Place translated ten of the plays, 
 1 Etudes sur Shakespeare, Paris, 1851, p. 340. 
 
THE TRANSLATOR OP SHAKESPEARE 167 
 
 and gave outlines of the others.^ He adhered 
 strictly to his motto, "non verbum rendere 
 verbo," and the result is a curious mixture of 
 prose and verse. In his so-called translations, 
 he frequently omits whole scenes, gives merely 
 an analysis of others, and passes over important 
 passages, the loss of which distorts the thought 
 and often changes the meaning. Still, he 
 brought to his task sincerity and ardor, and his 
 work marks the first actual introduction of 
 Shakespeare into France. But even more im- 
 portant than his translation, from which might 
 be gained an idea, however incomplete, of the 
 plays of Shakespeare, was the Discours sur le 
 ThSdtre Anglois, which La Place inserted in his 
 first volume by way of introduction, and in 
 which he spoke of Shakespeare with unusual 
 justice and appreciation. He found encourage- 
 ment, he said, in the increased interest in France 
 in English literature, and was aware that in a 
 study of the English drama it was necessary to 
 begin with Shakespeare. 
 
 " J'ai lu et medite avec attention ses ceuvres, 
 
 1 The plays translated were Othello, Menry VI., Bichard 
 III., Hamlet, Macbeth, Cymbeline, Julius Ccesar, Cleopatra, 
 Timon of Athens, and Merry Wives of Windsor. 
 
168 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 et j'ai senti qu'en les faisant connoitre, je dimi- 
 nuerois peut-etre la reputation de cet auteur si 
 Ton ne remarque que ses negligences et ses 
 defauts, sans avoir egard a la difference des 
 temps, des moeurs et des usages, si Ton ne veut 
 le juger que d'apres la Poetique d'Aristote ; si 
 le sublime des idees, la grandeur des images, le 
 feu de I'enthousiasme, la singularite des traits 
 nouveaux et hardis, le naturel des sentiments, 
 disparoissent aux yeux des lecteurs deja fatigues 
 par des scenes hors d'oeuvre, cheques souvent 
 par le manque de vraisemblance, et quelquefois 
 ennuyes par des details deplaces. ... II im- 
 porte peu que Shakespeare ait travaille dans 
 un gout different du notre, cette raison meme 
 doit redoubler notre curiosite . . . un pareil 
 examen ne pent que tendre a la perfection de 
 I'art. . . . L'esprit frangois ne doit pas etre ne- 
 cessairement celui de toutes les nations et dans 
 la lecture de Shakespeare, non seulement on 
 trouvera la difference du genie anglois et du 
 genie frangois mais on y verra des traits de 
 force, des beautes neuves et originales." 
 
 This was vigorous language, but La Place 
 went even further, and justified Shakespeare in 
 his disregard of the unities and in his scenes of 
 
THE TRANSLATOR OF SHAKESPEARE 169 
 
 violence. But he did more than this. Not con- 
 tent with declaring his beauties, he defended 
 him fearlessly from the attacks of the critics. 
 Although the first volume of the translation was 
 cordially received, j'et the sensitive taste of the 
 French was offended by Shakespeare's scenes of 
 bloodshed, his changes of place and scene, and 
 by his variations of style to suit the character 
 of the personages upon the stage. To these 
 charges La Place replied with a prophetic 
 breadth of view which was characteristic of the 
 man : 
 
 " Ces libertes, qui feront de Shakespeare 
 I'objet de la critique des Frangois, ne paroissent 
 pas contraires aux lois de la nature et de la 
 raison, ni a cette verite de sentiment qui les 
 rassemble toutes. Gardens nous done de con- 
 damner sans retour aujourd'hui ce que nos 
 neveux applaudiront peut-etre un jour." 
 
 This attempt of La Place to familiarize the 
 French people with the plays of Shakespeare 
 met with great success. The two volumes which 
 he had intended to devote to the English poet 
 had to be increased to four, and in the selection 
 of the plays translated can be seen his desire to 
 give an idea of Shakespeare's varied range of 
 
170 PIEERE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 subject.^ Although very mediocre as a transla- 
 tion the work marks an important epoch in the 
 history of French dramatic taste. Its value lies 
 not in its intrinsic merit, but in what it was able 
 to accomplish. A great diffusion of the knowl- 
 edge of Shakespeare, an easy means for those 
 ignorant of English to study him, a storehouse 
 of new and much-needed elements for dramatic 
 reform, a distinct addition to literature — these 
 are some of the results of the translation of La 
 Place. 
 
 The efforts of La Place were directly and ably 
 seconded by Ducis some twenty years later. 
 Meanwhile, various innovations, modifications, 
 and experiments among French dramatists tes- 
 tified to the growing power and influence of the 
 English stage. Two years after the translations 
 of La Place appeared the Frangois II. of Presi- 
 dent Renault, a direct and avowed imitation of 
 Shakespeare's historical "dramas. The rise of 
 the "com^die larmoyante" (1725-1740) and 
 individual efforts, such as Du Belloy's Siege de 
 Calais (1766), Mercier's Essay on Dramatic Art 
 (1773), and above all, Voltaire's emphatic utter- 
 
 1 Cymbeline, Julius Ocesar, Merry Wives of Windsor, 
 Cleopatra, Timon of Athens, 
 
THE TRANSLATOR OP SHAKESPEARE 171 
 
 ances in 1760 in the first heat of his reaction 
 against Shakespeare, did much to stimulate and 
 increase interest in the English dramatist. 
 
 The work of Ducis consisted, not in transla- 
 tion, but in imitation and adaptation. He knew 
 no English, but through the interpretation of 
 La Place became fired with a life-long admiration 
 and hero-worship of Shakespeare. His aim was 
 to unite the dramatic system of Voltaire with 
 Shakespearian subjects, and to adapt the plays 
 of the English dramatist to the French stage. 
 With the translation of La Place as his source of 
 material, and a picture of Shakespeare and one 
 of Garrick as his inspiration before him as he 
 wrote, he set to work, as reverently, to use his 
 own expression, as if he were laboring at an 
 altarpiece.-^ His good-will, sincerity, enthusiasm, 
 and industry were boundless ; his poetic and 
 dramatic talent unfortunately small. His first 
 trial was Hamlet, which was published in 1769. 
 It is a curious mixture of Shakespeare and Ducis. 
 Of Shakespeare's characters, Ducis retains only 
 five : Hamlet, Claudius, Polonius, Gertrude, and 
 Ophelia. A confidant is introduced for Hamlet, 
 and another for Gertrude. Ophelia is made the 
 1 Letter to Garrick, April 14, 1769. 
 
172 PIERRE LE TOURNEUE 
 
 daughter of Claudius, and the whole play turns 
 upon the plots of Claudius to dethrone Ham- 
 let.i 
 
 Thus transformed, the play had a great suc- 
 cess on the French stage, and Ducis, encouraged 
 by popular favor, ventured to try his skill still 
 further. In 1772 he produced Borneo and 
 Juliet, a drama which had little in common with 
 Shakespeare but the name and the rivalry be- 
 tween the houses of Capulet and Montague.^ 
 King Lear (1783), Macbeth (1784), King John 
 (1791), and Othello (1792) testified to the favor 
 with which these pale and colorless reflections 
 of Shakespeare were received. Ducis was him- 
 self conscious of the immense difficulty of his 
 undertaking, and his timidity is almost ludicrous 
 in contrast to the sincerity and earnestness of 
 his desire to introduce Shakespeare into France. 
 
 1 " Oui, cher Polonius, tout mon parti n'aspire 
 
 En d^trdnant Hamlet, qu'^ m'assurer I'empire." 
 — Hamlet, Act I. Scene 1. Ducis, CEuvres, Vol. I. Paris, 
 1819. 
 
 2 Romeo, after the defeat and proscription of his father, 
 has heen brought up from childhood in the house of the 
 Capulets, who are ignorant of his name. Finally, Montague 
 appears, and the play turns on the quarrel of the two men, 
 and Romeo's struggle between his love for Juliet and his 
 duty to his father. 
 
THE TRANSLATOR OF SHAKESPEARE 173 
 
 He recognized his worth, but dared not risk the 
 unpopularity which an exact reproduction might 
 bring upon the imitator and his author. He 
 stood, as it were, with Shakespeare on the thresh- 
 old of the French stage, timid and hesitating, 
 uncertain whether or not to lead him through 
 the portal, and finally compromising between 
 his fear and his desire, by making Shakespeare 
 keep silent, and by interpreting, in his own way, 
 the words of the wild and uncouth stranger. Al- 
 though his imitations often failed to convey the 
 meaning of Shakespeare, yet they gave some 
 idea of his personality and power, and did much 
 to familiarize the people with the English drama- 
 tist. 
 
 Enthusiasm and interest were further in- 
 creased by Sebastien Mercier in his Ussai sur 
 VArt Dramatique^ and his attempted reforms 
 in Les Tombeaux de VSrone (1774), and by 
 Marmontel's Discours sur la PoSsie Dramatique.? 
 by Bacular d'Arnaud's discours and his transla- 
 tion of a scene from Richard III. (Act V. 
 
 1 Du Tliecttre, ou, Nouvel Essai sur I' Art Dramatigue, 
 par M. Mercier, Amsterdam, 1773. 
 
 ^ Chefs d^CEuvre Dramatiques, ou. Becueil des Meilleures 
 Pieces du Theatre Franqois, par M. Marmontel, Paris, 
 1773. Discours sur la Tragedie. 
 
174 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 Scene 5),^ and by Douin's translation of 
 Othello.^ England and English literature be- 
 came the height of fashion. Not only P\-ance, 
 but all Europe, had already gone into ecstasies 
 over Young's Night Thoughts and Hervey's 
 Meditations on the Tomhs. The slow but irre- 
 sistible advance of the change of taste which 
 was to revolutionize European literature and 
 criticism had begun. People were eager for 
 something new. The wanderlust was felt in 
 literature. With the enjoyment of melancholy 
 came the delight in the mysterious, the unknown, 
 the incomprehensible. Shakespeare was wel- 
 comed for his very novelty and strangeness. 
 To talk of him was the fashion, to read him in 
 the mutilated and modified versions of La Place 
 and Ducis was interesting, and gave a desire 
 for more. One held one's breath, astonished, 
 marveling at his power, his audacity, his beauty, 
 moved by his tragedy and pathos, shocked at his 
 irregularities and grossness. Acquaintance with 
 him had the charm of novelty, the flavor of for- 
 bidden fruit; it gave the delicious thrill of 
 
 1 D'Amaud, Baoular, (Euvres completes, Amsterdam, 
 1775, 5 vols. Vol. II. p. 23 et seq. Discours Preliminaire 
 to Les Amans Malheureux. 
 
 2 Le More de Venise, traduit par M. Douln, Paris, 1773. 
 
THE TRANSLATOR OF SHAKESPEARE 175 
 
 watching a skilful acrobat, of listening to a half- 
 comprehended, pleasantly shocking tale. If this 
 were the effect of a slight and imperfect knowl- 
 edge, how much more enjoyable would be a 
 thorough and intimate acquaintance ! The su- 
 preme moment had come in the history of French 
 dramatic taste and criticism. The time was 
 ripe for the appearance of a complete translation 
 of Shakespeare. 
 
 To Pierre Le Tourneur belongs the honor of 
 having conceived and carried out this great and 
 important work, which was destined to engage 
 the whole literary world in warfare, and to 
 change the entire current of literary thought. 
 As early as 1770 he had had the idea in mind, 
 and in the preface to his translation of Young ^ 
 had spoken of Shakespeare with justice and 
 appreciation, and had stated his intention to 
 translate his entire works. The time had now 
 come for the fulfilment of his promise, and in 
 March, 1776, appeared the first two volumes of 
 the first complete translation of Shakespeare 
 into French. 2 The work was sold by subscrip- 
 
 1 CEuvres diverses d' Young, traduites par Le Tourneur, 
 Paris, 1770. 
 
 2 Shakespeare, traduit de I'Anglois, d^difi au Roi, Paris, 
 1776-1783, 20 vols. 8vo. 
 
176 PIERRE LE TOIIRNEUR 
 
 tion, dedicated to the king, and completed, in 
 twenty handsome octavo volumes, in 1783. It 
 was to be illustrated by engravings by Moreau, 
 and no pains were to be spared to make the edi- 
 tion a complete and handsome one. The plan 
 for the series of engravings unfortunately fell 
 through, but in other respects the edition car- 
 ried out the promise of the prospectus. These 
 first two volumes contained, besides much 
 introductory matter, translations of Othello, 
 The Tempest, and Julius Ccesar. They were 
 greeted with enthusiasm by the public, already 
 warmly appreciative of Le Tourneur's render- 
 ings of Young and Hervey, and ready to wel- 
 come any new translation from his pen.^ They 
 aroused a violent storm of criticism and protest 
 from Voltaire and his friends, who saw in them 
 not only an attack upon the sacred temple of 
 French classic drama, but also a deplorable lack 
 of taste on the part of the translators, in ignor- 
 ing the work of the greatest living dramatist of 
 
 1 " M. Le Toumeur fait esp^rer une Traduction du The- 
 atre entier de Shakespeare, le Public le reoevra sans doute 
 avec applaudissement, mais on attend avec plus d'impatience 
 encore les Ecrits originaux d'une plume comme la sienne." 
 — Bibliotheque des Sciences et des Beaux Arts, La Haye, 
 1771, Vol. XXXV. p. 363. 
 
THE TRANSLATOR OF SHAKESPEARE 177 
 
 France. Before taking up the details of this 
 literary quarrel, it will perhaps be of service, in 
 trying to understand it, to examine the intro- 
 ductory matter of the first volume, which, even 
 more than the translation itself, lashed Voltaire 
 to ungovernable fury. 
 
 In the work of these first two volumes, Le 
 Tourneur was aided by the Comte de Catuelan 
 and Fontaine-Malherbe,^ but for the remainder 
 of the work he was alone responsible. ^ The 
 first volume contained a list of over eight hundred 
 subscribers for more than twelve hundred copies. 
 The list was headed by the king and queen and 
 other members of the royal family, the King of 
 England, the Prince of Wales, and the " Empress 
 of all the Russias." Then came a glittering 
 array of princes, dukes, and many members of the 
 nobility ; of ministers of state and ambassadors, 
 the official representatives of foreign powers, 
 officers of the army and navy, professors, phy- 
 sicians, judges, merchants, the Archbishop of 
 
 1 Fontaine-Malherte, Jean (1740-1780), poet and drama- 
 tist, author of La Bapidite de la Vie (1766), JSpitre aux 
 Pauvres, Argillan, ou le Fanatisme des Croisades (1769), 
 Z'jScole des Feres, Le Cadet de Famille, etc. 
 
 2 Journal des Savants, June, 1779. Preface to Vol. VIII. 
 of Le Tourneur's translation. 
 
178 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 Canterbury, and the University of Cambridge, 
 the celebrated actors Garrick and Henderson, 
 and, curiously enough, Voltaire's friend, le 
 Comte d'Argental. About a fourth of the 
 subscribers were English, but they came also 
 from Lisbon, Madrid, Florence, Vienna, Am- 
 sterdam, and even "North America."^ This 
 imposing list was followed by a dedicatory 
 letter to the king, in which the translators en- 
 larged upon the genius of Shakespeare with a 
 justice and enthusiasm which had hitherto 
 been rare. No man of genius, they declared, 
 had ever penetrated more deeply into the re- 
 cesses of the human heart, none had more 
 powerfully given the language of nature to the 
 expression of human passions. 
 
 Like Nature herself, Shakespeare gives to his 
 personages the same astonishing variety of char- 
 acter that Nature bestows upon the individuals 
 she creates. With her as his only model and 
 sole teacher, he has learned the great secret of 
 dramatic art ; that is, to conceive characters for 
 the stage as lifelike as those created by Nature 
 
 i"M. Dobby Esq., North America; M. Lother Esq., 
 North America ; M. Lottin Esq., North America; M. Low- 
 art, Esq., North America." 
 
THE TRANSLATOR OF SHAKESPEARE 179 
 
 herself. Never yet has this great man been 
 shown to France in his true glory. He has hith- 
 erto appeared to a rival nation of superb taste in 
 a kind of ridiculous travesty which disfigured 
 his beautiful proportions. Now, freed from the 
 false jewels which had been substituted for his 
 true richness, and from the mask which, while 
 concealing the animated expression of his fea- 
 tures, presented nothing of him but a dull 
 and lifeless countenance, he will appear with 
 all his imperfections and in his natural great- 
 ness. The reader will not only find here, 
 scenes of nobility and grandeur, but will 
 observe that Shakespeare, descending into the 
 cabin of the poor, saw humanity there, and did 
 not disdain to paint it in the lower classes. 
 He seized upon nature wherever he found it, 
 and developed the recesses of the human heart 
 without departing from the ordinary scenes of 
 life. Shall then philosophers and men of letters 
 refuse to read or to applaud ? No ! for the great 
 sovereign of France himself deigns to visit and to 
 interest himself in the humblest of his subjects. 
 No ! a thousand times no ! It is barbarous 
 to think that half of the human race should be 
 vile outcasts unworthy of the brush of genius 
 
180 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 and given over to its scorn. The time has 
 passed when France admired only the fruits of 
 her own genius and looked with disdain upon 
 the work of other nations. Now Shakespeare 
 can appear with confidence in the country of 
 Corneille, Racine, and MoliSre, and demand from 
 the French people the tribute of glory which 
 every nation owes to genius, and which he 
 would have received from these great men if he 
 had been known to them. 
 
 After this enthusiastic and alas ! too confident 
 epistle came several pages devoted to the refu- 
 tation of certain statements concerning Shake- 
 speare, which Marmontel had carelessly and 
 imprudently made in the introductory discourse 
 to a recent edition of dramatic masterpieces. 
 LeTourneur showed the absurdity of Marmontel's 
 remarks and declared with some warmth that he 
 failed to see what warrant that author could 
 have had for making them, adding, with an as- 
 perity unusual in him, that if Marmontel had 
 had a better knowledge of the English and had 
 read the drama of their beloved poet, he would 
 have doubtless judged it more favorably and 
 more justly. The statements were inaccurate 
 and foolish in the extreme, and by the time Le 
 
THE TRANSLATOR OP SHAKESPEARE 181 
 
 Tourneur had finished with them, Marmontel 
 had not, so to speak, a leg left to stand on.^ 
 After demolishing Marmontel's arguments 
 
 1 1°. Page xxxvi. Que lorsque I'Espagne avolt Lopez 
 de Vega Shakespeare, au commencement du dix-septifeme 
 sifeole, fit paroitre la Trag^die sur le Theatre de Londres, et 
 qu'il paroit avoir eu connaissance du Th63,tre Espagnol. 
 
 2°. Page xxxiv. Que les Anglois prirent le goiit de la 
 d^cence de la belle nature en France, t la cour de Louis le 
 Grand, que ce fut k Molifere k Racine, k Despr^aux, qu'ils 
 durent Wicherly, Congreve, Rochester, Dryden, etc., et que 
 tandis qu'S, la lecture, les Pofetes du second age oharmaient 
 la Cour de Charles II., et que la partie la plus oultiv^e de la 
 Nation, d'acoord aveo toute I'Europe, admiroit le Comique 
 ing^nieux et decent de Congreve, I'ancien goflt, le goCt 
 populaire n'applaudissoit sur les Theatres qu'un comique 
 grossier, obscfene, un Tragique aussi peu decent. 
 
 3°. Page xxviii. Que quoique Sliakespeare soit encore 
 le Maltre du Theatre, et presque le seul qu'on y applaudisse 
 avec transport, on peut pr^dire que jamais sa manifere ne 
 sera sincferement gofit^e en Angleterre que par le peuple. 
 
 4° Page xxxviii. Qu'on abrfege tons les jours Shake- 
 speare ; qu'on le chatie, que le c^Ifebre Garrick vient de ris- 
 quer tout nouvellement sur son Theatre de retrancher de la 
 Trag^die d' Hamlet la scene des Fossoyeurs et presque tout 
 le cinqui6me Acte ; et que la pifece et I'auteur n'en ont ^t^ 
 que plus applaudis. 
 
 5°. Page xxxiii. Que les Anglois sont un peuple peu 
 sensible aux plaisirs de I'imagination. 
 
 6". Page xxxvii. Que Shakespeare n'a jamais connu 
 cette piti6 douce qui p^nfetre insensiblement, qui se saisit 
 des coBurs et qui, les pressant par degr^s, leur fait gofiter 
 le plaisir si doux de se soulager par des larmes. — Chefs 
 d^CEuvre Dramatiques, Paris, 1773. 
 
182 PIEEEE LB TOUENEUR 
 
 Le Tourneur proceeded to an enthusiastic de- 
 scription of the Shakespeare Jubilee, celebrated 
 in Stratford in 1769. In the closing paragraphs 
 he said, with much truth, that before declaring 
 that the English have made too much of Shake- 
 speare, and are still blindly worshiping him, it 
 would be well for the French to know and 
 understand him.^ After all, he concluded, what 
 true talent needs, is not so much favor as simple 
 justice. 
 
 The account of the Jubilee was followed by a 
 life of Shakespeare written with sympathy and 
 discrimination. Le Tourneur's appreciations of 
 Shakespeare in the concluding paragraphs are 
 marked by a justice and by a boldness and indiffer- 
 ence to tradition, well calculated to scandalize the 
 conservative worshipers of French classic models. 
 
 1 "Avant Ae le juger lui-mgme, tS.chons d'attendre k le 
 connoitre, nous, dont une ardeur pr6matur6e pr&ipite et 
 6gare quelquefois les jugemens ; nous, qu'un premier pas 
 heureux dans la carrifere enivre et transporte jusqu'au d^- 
 lire pour I'idole du jour, qui proclamons sans pudeur du nom 
 de grand Pofete, de grand aoteur, des enfans k peine sortis 
 du berceau de leur art ; et qui, bientSt, aussi cruels dans 
 nos d^gofl-ts, qu'insens^s dans nos caprices, renversons, 
 foulons aux pieds sans piti^ I'objet de notre admiration 
 6ph6m6re, ^toufiant ainsi le talent, tant6t dans des flots 
 d'encens, tantSt sous la verge impitoyabls du m^pris." — 
 "Vol. I. p. xxxiv. 
 
THE TRANSLATOR OF SHAKESPEARE 183 
 
 At a time, he says, when the Italians, cor- 
 rupted by bad taste, were listening to childish 
 conceits and disdaining everything natural, when 
 France still enjoyed scandalous mystery plays 
 and farces, Shakespeare appeared, and revived 
 in England the art of Plautus and Sophocles, 
 which had been dead two thousand years. 
 Rather, he created it, and it merited the name 
 of the art of Shakespeare as well as the art of 
 Sophocles.^ The study of the models which 
 we have corrupts and alters in us the originality 
 of nature. Unconsciously we copy their manner- 
 isms and defects, and like magicians in a fairy 
 tale they transform us before we are aware. One 
 reason of Shakespeare's greatness is, that he came 
 first, was hampered by no rules, bound by the 
 
 ' " Cr^ateur de ce genre nouveau, il sentit qu'il avoit le 
 droit d'agir en maitre, et rejetta toutes les loix qui ne s'ao- 
 cordoient pas avec ees grandes vues et ses vastes plans. 
 Peintre de I'humanit^, il embrassa tout le genre humain. II 
 vit que les dernieres classes de la soci^t^ pouvoient aussi 
 bien que les plus ^lev^es lul fournir une foule de personnages 
 in'^^ressans. Tout ce qui 6toit homme fut sacr6 pour lui et 
 parut digne k Shakespeare d'etre admls sur la scfene avec 
 les Rois, parce que les Rois lui parurent aussi des hommes. 
 II les peignit sans farder leurs images ; jamais il n'en fit 
 des h^ros, ni des demi-dieux imaginaires ; mais toujours sa 
 plume sincere les repr^senta fldfelement dans ses Merits tels 
 qu'ils avoient exists sur le Trdne." — Vol. I. p. Ixxvi. 
 
184 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 ' laws of no existing school. Had he lived a cen- 
 tury later, he would have been forced into volun- 
 tary imitation and would have been less original 
 than he was. In the ideal cultivation of art, con- 
 cludes Le Tourneur, where fidelity to nature is 
 the fundamental principle, it will be free from 
 those cold and cowardly critics who, measuring na- 
 ture with insufficient rules, consider its noble and 
 majestic proportions as gigantic, and in order to 
 judge them beautiful, would reduce them to the 
 petty ideas which they themselves have formed. 
 
 After the Vie de Shakespeare came a Discours 
 des PrSfaces chiefly composed of extracts from 
 the prefaces of various editors of Shakespeare, 
 such as Pope, Rowe, Warburton, Johnson, Han- 
 mer, Sewell, etc. Le Tourneur carefully ex- 
 plained that this discours contained very little 
 of his own composition, only a few phrases 
 added here and there to weld the difEerent ex- 
 tracts into a continuous and harmonious whole. 
 
 A noteworthy thing in this discours is Le 
 
 Tourneur's definition of romantique, a term 
 
 which he uses and explains for the first time in 
 
 the history of literature.^ 
 
 1 " Nous n'avons dans notrelangue que deux mots, peut- 
 gtre mgme qu'un seul, pour exprimer une vue, une scfene 
 d'objets, un paysage, qui attache les yeux et captive Tiinagi- 
 
THE TRANSLATOR OP SHAKESPEARE 185 
 
 Although purporting to he merely a compila- 
 tion of extracts, this Discours contained, never- 
 theless, many more of Le Tourneur's own 
 judgments and opinions than he admitted in 
 
 nation ; si cette sensation 6veille dans I'ame ^mue, des affec- 
 tions tendres et des id^es m^lancoliques, alors ces deux mots : 
 Momanesque et Pittoresque ne suffisent pas pour le rendre. 
 Le premier, trfes souvent pris en mauvaise part, est alors 
 synonyme de chim^rique et de fabuleux : il signifie ^ la lettre 
 un objetde Roman qui n'existe que dans le pays de la faerie, 
 dans les rgves bizarres de I'imagination, et ne se trouve point 
 dans la nature. Le second n'exprime que les effets d'un ta- 
 bleau quelconque, oti diverses masses rapproch^es forment un 
 ensemble qui frappe les yeux et le fait admirer, mais sans 
 que rS.me y partioipe, sans que le coeur y prenne un tendre 
 int6r§t. Le mot anglois est plus heureux et plus ^nergique. 
 En mgme temps qu'il renferme I'id^e de ces parties group- 
 p^es d'une manifere neuve et varies propre k ^tonner le 
 sens, il porte de plus dans l'§,me le sentiment de I'^motion 
 douoe et tendre qui nait k leur vue, et joint ensemble les 
 effets physiques et moraux de la perspective. Si ce vallon 
 n'est que pittoresque, c'est un point de I'^tendu qui prgte au 
 Peintre et qui m^rite d'etre distingu^ et saisi par I'art. Mais 
 s'il est Romantique, on dfeire de s'y reposer, I'oeil se plait a 
 le regarder et bientdt I'imagination attendrie le peuple de 
 sofenes int^ressantes : elle oublie le vallon pour se complaire 
 dans les id^es, dans les images qu'il lui a inspir^es. Les 
 tableaux de Salvator Rosa, quelques sites des Alpes, plu- 
 sieurs Jardins et Campagnes de I'Angleterre, ne sont point 
 romanesques : mais on pent dire qu'ils sont plus que pit- 
 toresques, o'est k dire touohans et Romantiques. — Vol. I. p. 
 cxviii, note. Cited also by Michiels, Lacroix, Jusserand, 
 Lounsbury. 
 
186 PIEREE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 his explanatory note. Not a few sentences and 
 paragraphs are of his own invention, suggested 
 perhaps by something said by one of the editors 
 he had been reading. From the shelter of the 
 names of these English critics, he was able to give 
 utterance to his boldest and most radical ideas 
 upon the drama in general, andupon Shakespeare 
 in particular, and here he went far in advance 
 even of Mercier, one of the most enthusiastic 
 admirers of the English dramatist. Le Tourneur 
 declared, for example, that to condemn Shake- 
 speare according to the rules of Aristotle would 
 be like judging a Republican according to the 
 laws of a foreign monarchy. If Shakespeare had 
 been born in Athens and had then put upon the 
 stage these plays which are grander and more 
 vast than those of Euripides and Sophocles, it is 
 certain that Aristotle, struck by imitations of 
 nature so faithful and so lifelike, would have 
 adopted different principles from those of these 
 great dramatists. 
 
 It is an abuse of criticism to take to itself the 
 right to govern opinions, to set up as sacred one 
 kind of drama and proscribe another. It is 
 nothing but superstition to obey laws imposed by 
 mere authority, and the autocratic critic should 
 
THE TRANSLATOR OF SHAKESPEARE 187 
 
 be called before the tribunal of nature, fidel- 
 ity to which should be the sole standard of 
 judgment. These were bold words, and Le 
 Tourneur might well tremble for the success of 
 his enterprise, introduced by such an audacious 
 attack on the very foundations of French taste. 
 That he fully realized the difEculties of the sit- 
 uation is shown by his concluding remarks, but 
 the knowledge did not lead him to modify his 
 statements. After all, he says, our task is to 
 translate rather than to judge Shakespeare, and 
 this task, full of peril and difficulty in itself, 
 finds further obstacles in national prejudice. 
 Instead of an encouraging indulgence, we have 
 in prospect only the censure of the two nations, 
 and success seems to be imposed upon us as 
 a rigorous law and an ungrateful necessity. 
 Nevertheless, he continues hopefully, the merit 
 of the work compensates for its difEculty. Never 
 will Shakespeare's blemishes eclipse his beauties 
 and his glory ; he has riches enough to appease 
 the most severe critic, and criticism will bend 
 beneath the charm of his genius. Our own na- 
 tion, furthermore, is capable of perceiving and 
 acknowledging virtues and talents which do not 
 belong to it. We have learned that if our 
 
188 PIERRE LE TOUENEUR 
 
 country is blessed with a benignant sky and 
 smiling fruitfulness, the rest of the globe 
 is neither savage nor accursed ; and that in 
 the empire of letters as well as in the physi- 
 cal universe, there are, in every department, 
 advantageous exchanges to be made of our 
 own productions and those of other coun- 
 tries. 
 
 There is, however, at Paris, a class of thought- 
 less Aristarchs, who have already weighed 
 Shakespeare in their limited balance, and al- 
 though he has never been translated or known 
 in France, they know the exact sum of his 
 beauties and defects. Without ever having 
 read this poet, without even understanding his 
 language, they describe him, in a word, as a 
 savage who has let fall some happy and forcible 
 lines, but who has nothing of value to offer to 
 a delicate and refined people. Another class of 
 probable opponents of the translation consists of 
 men who fear the effects of Shakespeare upon 
 France and French literature. They fear that 
 under his influence the French theatre will be 
 overwhelmed with monsters, burials, rivers of 
 blood, atrocities of all kinds. Our great poets 
 will be insulted by a foreign race which will 
 
THE TRANSLATOR OP SHAKESPEARE 189 
 
 confound all kinds of composition and will bury 
 our masterpieces under the mass of its black and 
 bizarre productions. 
 
 "Vous ne partagez point," concludes Le 
 Tourneur, "ces vaines alarmes, 6 vous, MS,nes 
 reveres de nos grands Poetes dramatiques. 
 Depouilles des prejuges et des petits interets de 
 nos critiques, et siirs de votre immortalite, vous 
 preferez I'etranger qui a su inventer dans votre 
 Art, au fade encens, aux froides copies, de vos 
 serviles imitateurs : et semblables aux Remains, 
 vous voyez entrer dans le capitole les dieux des 
 autres nations, sans trembler pour vos autels et 
 pour le culte de la patrie." 
 
 From these sentiments and many more scat- 
 tered throughout the hundred and forty pages 
 of prefatory matter, it will be readily seen 
 that a reaction against Shakespeare and the 
 Gothic drama on the part of the conservative 
 upholders of French classic models was inevi- 
 table. No such revolution in taste, as the 
 immediate and thorough appreciation of Shake- 
 speare by a nation opposed to his system by 
 temperament, education, and ideals would have 
 signified, was possible without many a struggle 
 and much literary bloodshed. The appearance 
 
190 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 in 1776 of these two innocent-seeming volumes 
 was the signal for the breaking out of one of 
 the fiercest and most picturesque wars in the 
 history of literature. The entire literary world 
 was divided into two camps, the conservatives 
 on one side and the liberals on the other. It 
 was as if a question of national honor were at 
 stake ; it was almost an international literary 
 quarrel. At the head of the army opposing 
 Shakespeare was Voltaire, the very man who 
 had been one of the first to introduce the Eng- 
 lish poet to his countrymen. Voltaire's attitude 
 towards Shakespeare had been considerably 
 modified within the last fifteen years. To be 
 sure, he had not greeted the translations of 
 La Place with any degree of cordiality, but he 
 was keen sighted enough to realize that this 
 travesty gave too inadequate and imperfect an 
 idea of Shakespeare to be worthy of serious at- 
 tention. In 1761 his conclusion of the whole 
 matter at the close of his comparison of Julius 
 Caesar and Cinna, that the genius of Corneille 
 is to that of Shakespeare what a nobleman is to 
 a man of the people born with the same intelli- 
 gence as himself, showed that the reaction in 
 his mind had begun. From that time on, in 
 
THE TRANSLATOR OF SHAKESPEARE 191 
 
 his correspondence, in the Dictionary, in the 
 ThSdtre Anglois par Jirome OarrS, he began 
 openly to withdraw more and more from 
 praise and appreciation of Shakespeare and 
 to uphold with increasing ardor the sacred 
 models of the French classic drama. He was, 
 however, of too keen an intellect and too pene- 
 trating and just in judgment not to appreciate 
 the power and beauty of Shakespeare, even while 
 disapproving his methods. He admired much 
 in Shakespeare, and a study of his own dramas 
 shows various improvements and modifications 
 due to the influence of the English poet. Why, 
 then, should the appearance of a complete 
 translation have roused him to such a passion 
 of rage? The reason, after all, is not far to 
 seek. Conservative as he was in matters of lit- 
 erary taste, and believing thoroughly in the 
 perfection of the classic models of French 
 drama, he thought he saw a serious menace to 
 the purity of his own dramatic literature in the 
 undue influence of the Gothic drama. It is 
 possible, too, that he realized, unconsciously per- 
 haps, the lack of moderation in his countrymen 
 when under the influence of a new idea. He 
 may have recognized the fact that, as they had 
 
192 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 gone wild over the poetry of Young and the 
 gloomy meditations of Hervey, they were likely 
 to go to extremes in their transports of delight 
 in Shakespeare or in their adoption of his 
 methods. 
 
 But besides these sincere, legitimate, and 
 well-founded reasons was another, even more 
 powerful, which impelled Voltaire to the bitter- 
 est opposition. This was the feeling of wounded 
 vanity and pride. He was himself a dramatic 
 poet of talent and ability. His work, in which 
 he had honestly tried to carry on worthily the 
 splendid task begun by Corneille and Racine, 
 had been much admired. He had, furthermore, 
 already made in his own dramas all the modifi- 
 cations and changes suggested by an acquaint- 
 ance with Shakespeare's works that it seemed 
 to him the French drama could endure and 
 still retain its native purity and perfection. 
 He saw, then, his own prestige as a dramatist 
 threatened by too great an enthusiasm for 
 Shakespeare. Possibly he feared, too, the de- 
 tection, on the part of the public, of the source 
 of many of his dramatic innovations, which he 
 had neglected to mention, and which one might 
 have supposed to be the result of his own supe- 
 
THE TRANSLATOR OP SHAKESPEARE 193 
 
 rior genius. Furthermore, Voltaire had been, 
 for years, the literary autocrat of France, the 
 leader and director of literary taste. It was he 
 himself, he felt, who had discovered Shake- 
 speare, and introduced him to France. The 
 public had been properly grateful to him for 
 this favor, and, up to the present time, had been 
 generally content to follow his lead in this, as 
 in other matters, to believe implicitly what he 
 said, and to admire as much or as little as he 
 directed. Now, however, he saw not only his 
 prestige as a dramatist, but his glory as the 
 leader of literary taste threatened, and that, 
 seriously. Things were going too fast for him. 
 He foresaw that he could no longer control 
 them, and that was enough to rouse his anger. 
 But there was yet more. In all the hundred 
 and forty pages of prefatory matter to the trans- 
 lation there was no mention, however slight, 
 of France's, nay, of Europe's greatest living 
 dramatist. Of Corneille and of Racine, yes ; 
 but of him, upon whom their mantle of genius 
 had fallen, not a single word. In his first 
 anger he did not stop to consider that, as a 
 matter of fact, none of these things was true, 
 or that there was no especial reason why his 
 
194 PIERRE LE TOURNEUE 
 
 name should be coupled with a translation of 
 Shakespeare. He did not pause to reflect that 
 the surest way of retaining his leadership, in 
 any event, would be to put himself at once at 
 the head of a movement as inevitable as it was 
 popular. He saw only the purity of the 
 national drama threatened, its principles at- 
 tacked, his own prestige as a dramatist and 
 leader lost, himself ignored, and his teaching 
 contradicted. It was too much; he raised at 
 once the battle cry, classicists to the rescue, 
 and declared immediate and relentless war upon 
 Le Tourneur and all his works. The story of 
 this controversy has been already told, and it 
 will be sufficient to indicate here only that 
 portion of it which directly concerns Le Tour- 
 neur. 
 
 Voltaire's first move in the war was his fa- 
 mous letter to d'Argental, the 19th of August, 
 1776: 
 
 "II faut que je vous disc combien je suis 
 ikche pour I'honneur du tripot, contre un nomme 
 Tourneur, qu'on dit secretaire de la librairie, et 
 qui ne me parait pas le secretaire du bon golit. 
 Auriez-vous lu les deux volumes de ce mise- 
 rable dans lesquels il veut nous faire regarder 
 
THE TRANSLATOR OF SHAKESPEARE 195 
 
 Shakespeare comma le seul modele de la veri- 
 table tragedie ? II I'appelle le dieu du thSdtre. 
 II sacrifie to us les Frangais, sans exception, a 
 son idole, comma on sacrifiait autrefois des 
 cochons a Ceres. II ne daigne pas meme nom- 
 mar Corneilla et Racine ; ces deux grands 
 hommes sont seulement enveloppes dans la 
 proscription g6n6rale, sans que leurs noms 
 soient prononces. II y a deja deux tomes im- 
 primes de ce Shakespeare qu'on prendrait pour 
 das pieces da la Foire, faites il y a deux cents 
 ans. Ca barbouilleur a trouve la secret de faire 
 engager le roi, la reine, et touta la famille 
 royala, a souscrire a son ouvrage. Avez-vous 
 lu son abominable grimoire dont il y aura 
 encore cinq volumes ? Avez-vous une haine 
 assez vigoureuse centre cet imprudent imbecile? 
 souffrirez vous I'affront qu'il fait a la France ? 
 II n'y a point en France assez de camouflets, 
 assez de bonnets d'&ne, assez da piloris pour un 
 pareil faquin. Le sang petille dans mes vieilles 
 veinas, en vous parlant de lui. S'il ne vous a 
 pas mis en colera, je vous tians pour un homme 
 impassible. Ce qu'il y a d'affreux, c'est que le 
 monstre a un parti en France ; et, pour comble 
 de calamite et d'horreur, c'est moi qui, autrefois, 
 
196 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 parlai le premier de ce Shakespeare ; c'est moi, 
 qui le premier, montrai aux Frangais quelques 
 perles que j'avais trouvees dans son ^norme fu- 
 mier. Je ne m'attendais pas que je servirais un 
 jour a fouler aux pieds les couronnes de Racine 
 et de Corneille, pour en orner le front d'un 
 histrion barbare."^ 
 
 This remarkable document was widely cir- 
 culated and made a great stir. It came like a 
 thunderbolt out of a clear sky upon the unfor- 
 tunate translators, and especially upon Le Tour- 
 neur, for whom Voltaire had, six years before, 
 expressed the utmost cordiality and apprecia- 
 tion on the occasion of his translation of Young. 
 The letter was printed in the Correspondanee 
 secrete in August,^ and in November appeared, 
 in the same periodical, a letter by Le Tourneur, 
 in which, with great generosity and mildness, 
 he treats the whole thing as a piece of forgery. 
 
 1 Voltaire (Euvres, ed. Didot, 1862, Vol. XIII. p. 368. 
 
 2 " Vous ne pourrez, Monsieur, lire sans ^tonnemeut, la 
 lettre dent je vous envois une copie fidfele. On voit qu'elle 
 a 6t6 ^orite dans I'effervescence de la colfere d'un vieillard 
 morose mais oe n'est pas assur^ment IS, la colfere d'Achille, 
 et vous y retrouverez mgme si peu la manifere 6xl grand 
 homme que vous douterez comme moi qu'il I'ait ^crite." 
 Correspondanee secrete, politique et litteraire, London, 1787, 
 8 vols., Vol. III. p. 269. 
 
THE TRANSLATOR OF SHAKESPEARE 197 
 
 His letter is embodied in one to the editor, dated 
 Paris, Nov. 11, 1776.i 
 
 " Monsieur ! vous aurez peut-etre rencontr^ 
 la copie d'une lettre que les ennemis deM.de 
 Voltaire ont repandue, a I'occasion de la traduc- 
 tion de Shakespeare. Cette lettre vous aura paru 
 inconcevable, et vous en aurez juge comme tons 
 les gens senses, qui ont rendu justice a ce grand 
 ecrivain en refusant toute croyance a cet ecrit. 
 lis ont regarde comme impossible que cet illustre 
 vieillard ait, sans motif et sans offense, laisse 
 echapper de sa plume immortelle une foule de 
 phrases et d'expressions qui choquent bien plus 
 la decence et la verite que la personne qui en 
 paroit I'objet. lis n'ont pu imaginer comment 
 M. de Voltaire qui nous a le premier avertis du 
 genie de ee poete anglois, qui nous a appris 
 qu'il n'etoit encore ni connu ni traduit en 
 France, qui s'est delasse lui-meme h nous en 
 donner quelques morceaux, qui, enfin, a daigne 
 
 1 Correspondance secrete, politique et Utteraire, London, 
 1787, 18 vols. 
 
 De Paris le 11 Novembre, 1776. 
 
 " Je vais vous transcrire une lettre trfes Ing^nieuse et tr6s 
 bien faite de M. Le Tourneur sur la lettre que je vous ai 
 communiqu^e de M. de Voltaire, ^ M. d'Argental." — Vol. 
 in. p. 416. i 
 
198 PIEEEE LB TOUKNEUR 
 
 souscrire pour nofcre ouvrage, et qui, par la, nous 
 a permis d'illustrer de son nom la nouvelle liste 
 du troisieme volume, m'auroit, six mois aprds la 
 publication des deux premiers, choisi seul pour 
 me faire un crime de cette entreprise, de son 
 execution et de son succes chez les deux nations. 
 Par quel interSt auroit-il affecte un silence in- 
 jurieux pour mes deux associes, qui ont dans 
 le travail une part egale a la mienne ? les defauts 
 qui deparent Shakespeare, et tout ce qu'il pent 
 offrir d'etrange pour le gout et pour nos regies 
 n'ont pu I'irriter a cet exces ; il les connoissoit 
 avant nous. II n'approuvoit pas davantage les 
 defauts d' Young, et sa triste abondance en quel- 
 ques endroits, et il n'en a pas moins ecrit en 
 1769, au traducteur des Nuits, une lettre honnete 
 et flatteuse. C'est done evidemment une in- 
 sulte a la gloire de M. de Voltaire, que la sup- 
 position d'une lettre injurieuse que rien n'a 
 provoquee, centre un homme qui lui a toujours 
 paye le tribut d'estime et de veneration qu'on 
 doit a ses ecrits et a sa renommee. Mais quand 
 il seroit possible que M. de Voltaire, trompe par 
 quelque faux rapport qui I'auroit aigri, eiit de- 
 pose son ressentiment dans le sein d'un ami, qui 
 croira jamais que cet ami ait pu livrer a des 
 
THE TEANSLATOE OF SHAKESPEAEE 199 
 
 mains etraugeres ce premier epanchement de 
 sa sensibility ? il est done inutile d'entrer dans 
 les details de cette lettre pretendue, pour y 
 chercher des preuves de sa supposition. Ce 
 seroit combattre serieusement une chimere. II 
 suffit d'avertir que e'en est une, et meme cet 
 avis ne sera guere utile qu'a quelques lecteurs 
 inconsider6s, qui, faute de reflechir, auroient pu 
 compromettre dans leur esprit trois reputations 
 a la fois." 
 
 The most remarkable thing about this letter 
 of Le Tourneur, as striking for its tone of charit- 
 ableness and dignity as Voltaire's is for angry 
 prejudice and lack of self-control, is the state- 
 ment that Voltaire was a subscriber to the trans- 
 lation of Shakespeare. Le Tourneur declares 
 positively that Voltaire's name is to figure on 
 the new list of subscribers in volume three, but 
 it is not there, nor can any other intimation be 
 found that he had the slightest intention of buy- 
 ing it. It is altogether likely, however, that he 
 was anxious to see the translation as soon as it 
 was announced, and quite possible that he sub- 
 scribed for it too late for his name to appear 
 on the first list, and yet before the publication 
 of the first volume with its obnoxious prefatory 
 
200 PIEERE LE TOTJRNEUR 
 
 matter. It would then be simple quietly to with- 
 draw his subscription before any one knew that 
 he had made it, and before his angry outburst to 
 d'Argental. Whether or not this letter of Le 
 Tourneur ever came to his attention it is impos- 
 sible to determine. At all events he never took 
 any notice of it, but continued for the two re- 
 maining years of his life to pour forth invective 
 and abuse upon the innocent translator. 
 
 Voltaire's first letter was the signal for war, 
 not admittedly a personal quarrel between him- 
 self and Le Tourneur, but an international war- 
 fare, French drama against English, classic 
 against romantic, Corneille and Racine against 
 " Gilles Shakespeare," France against England. 
 To d'Argental he wrote again, July 30, in a 
 frenzy of despair and rage which is almost comic. 
 
 " Mon cher ange, I'abomination de la deso- 
 lation est dans le temple du Seigneur. Lekain 
 ... me dit que presque toute la jeunesse de 
 Paris est pour Le Tourneur, que les echafauds 
 et les b...ls anglais I'emportent sur le theatre 
 de Racine et sur les belles scenes de Corneille ; 
 qu'il n'y a plus rien de grand et de decent a 
 Paris que les Gilles de Londres, et, qu'enfin, 
 on va donner une tragedie en prose ou il y a 
 
THE TRANSLATOR OF SHAKESPEARE 201 
 
 une assemblee de bouchers qui fera un mer- 
 veilleux effet. J'ai vu finir le regne de la rai- 
 son et du gout. Je vais mourir en laissant la 
 France barbare, mais heureusement vous vivez, 
 et je me flatte que la reine ne laissera pas sa 
 nouvelle patrie dont elle fait le charme, en 
 proie a des sauvages et a des monstres. Je 
 me flatte que M. le marechal de Duras ne nous 
 aura pas fait I'honneur d'etre de I'academie 
 pour nous voir manger par des Hottentots. Je 
 me suis quelquefois plaint des Welches ; mais 
 j'ai voulu venger les Frangais avant de mourir." 
 
 Voltaire's method of avenging the French 
 was his famous letters to the Academy, read 
 by d'Alembert the 25th of August. On the 
 14th he wrote to M. de Vaines : 
 
 " Le 25 du mois, monsieur, je combats en 
 champ clos, sous les etendards de M. d'Alem- 
 bert contre Gilles Le Tourneur, ecuyer de 
 Gilles Shakespeare." 
 
 To La Harpe he had written encouragingly 
 on the 13th : 
 
 "M. d'Alembert et vos autres amis, font, 
 ce me semble, une ceuvre bien patriotique et 
 bien meritoire d'oser defendre en pleine aca- 
 demie, Sophocle, Corneille, Euripide et Racine 
 
202 PIEERE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 contre Gilles Shakespeare et Pierrot Le Tour- 
 neur. II faudrait se laver les mains apres cette 
 bataille, car vous aurez a combattre contre des 
 gadouards. Je ne m'attendais pas que la France 
 tonberait un jour dans I'abime d'ordures ou on 
 I'a plongee ; voila I'abomination de la desolation 
 dans le lieu saint." 
 
 The " meritorious and patriotic work " of the 
 faithful d'Alembert consisted largely in repeat- 
 ing obediently Voltaire's opinions, and in read- 
 ing for him, before the Academy, the letters 
 which he had prepared for the defense of France 
 against England. In these remarkable docu- 
 ments, Voltaire's personal anger, his wounded 
 vanity, his brilliant and stinging sarcasm, his 
 plausible inaccuracy and eloquent injustice of 
 statement are shown with a clearness and 
 power at once pathetic, comic, and exasperat- 
 ing. Le Tourneur, under the name of " the 
 translator " and " the secretary of the French 
 booksellers, " was fiercely attacked for having 
 wished to humiliate his country, for trying to 
 sacrifice France to England, for daring to say 
 that Shakespeare had never been adequately 
 known or translated. This was the secret of 
 Voltaire's wrath. Had not he himself been the 
 
THE TRANSLATOR OF SHAKESPEARE 203 
 
 first in France to learn English ? Had he not 
 translated Shakespeare and introduced him to 
 his countrymen? For this he had already, and 
 long since, suffered opposition, criticism, mar- 
 tyrdom. With its usual lack of mesure, the 
 pendulum of public taste had swung too far the 
 other way, and had he not been obliged, by his 
 commentary on Corneille in 1761, to try to 
 check a movement which he had himself 
 started? But if, after all, the public desires 
 to know Shakespeare fully, it should at least 
 know him as he is. This translation is not 
 what it claims to be. It does not represent 
 Shakespeare exactly. Why, in a conscientious 
 rendering, should any one of his gross expres- 
 sions be omitted ? Let us, at least, be just, 
 and see this great man as he is. In order to 
 show Shakespeare's manner and genius, Vol- 
 taire then translated, with apologies to his 
 audience, several passages, selected for their 
 coarse expressions, from Othello, Macbeth, and 
 Romeo and Juliet. This, he explained, is the 
 eloquence of the much-vaunted Shakespeare. 
 It is true that he has flashes of power, moments 
 of beauty ; but shall this barbarian be set above 
 Racine and Ooroeille ? Voltaire concluded his 
 
204 PIERRE LE TOXJRNEUR 
 
 address with a burst of overwhelming and un- 
 answerable eloquence: 
 
 " Figurez vous, messieurs, Louis XIV. dans 
 sa galerie de Versailles, entoure de sa cour bril- 
 lante; un Gilles couvert de lambeaux perce la 
 foule des heros, des grands hommes et des beau- 
 tes qui composent cette cour ; il leur propose 
 de quitter Corneille, Racine et Moliere, pour un 
 saltimbanque qui a des saillies heureuses, et qui 
 fait des contorsions. Comment croyez-vous que 
 cette offre serait reQue ? " 
 
 Notwithstanding the brilliant victory which 
 the stir occasioned by the reading of these 
 letters seemed to indicate, Voltaire, whose 
 frenzy appeared to increase, rather than to 
 spend itself, in the expression of his feelings, 
 now completely lost his head. Forgetting all 
 sense of decency, all notions of diplomacy and 
 tact, he first insinuated that love of money had 
 caused Le Tourneur's defection to the English, 
 second, that the only reason they preferred 
 Shakespeare to Corneille was because of the 
 superior talent of the actor Garrick;i and 
 
 1 A M. DE Vaines : 7 septembre. 
 
 " Je ne suis monsieur, qu'un vieux housard, mais j'ai 
 combattu tout seul oontre une arm^e entifere de pandours. 
 Je me flatte qu'Si la fin il se trouvera de braves frangais qtii 
 
THE TRANSLATOR OF SHAKESPEARE 205 
 
 finally, lie -wrote to the Duo de Richelieu ^ to 
 try to stop the circulation of the translation 
 of Le Tourneur, who had dared to put the 
 names of the king and queen in a work which 
 was a dishonor to France. 
 
 se joindront ^ moi, s'il y a des Welches qui m'abandonnent. 
 M. de La Harpe r^pondra mieux que moi k M. Le Tourneur 
 en donnant son Menzicof et ses Barmecides. . . . 
 
 " Je suis persuade que vous avez 6t6 indign^ contre I'inso- 
 lente mauvaise foi d'un secretaire de notre librairie, qui a la 
 bassesse d'immoler la Erance ^ I'Angleterre, pour obtenir 
 quelques souscriptions des Anglais qui viennent k Paris. 
 II est impossible qu'un homme qui n'est pas absolument fou 
 ait pu, de sang froid, pr^f &er un Gilles tel que Shakespeare, 
 t Corneille et k Racine. Cette infamie ne pent avoir 6t6 
 commise que par une sordide avarice qui court aprfes les 
 guin^es. 
 
 " Je sais que Garrick a pu faire illusion par son jeu, qui est, 
 dit-on, tres pittoresque ; il aura pu repr&enter tres natu- 
 rellement les passions que Shakespeare a d^figur^es en les 
 outrant d'une manifere ridicide ; et quelques anglais se sont 
 imaging que Shakespeare vaut mieux que Corneille, parce que 
 Garrick est sup^rieur k Mol^. 
 
 " Voil^ peut-gtre I'origine de la bizarre erreur des Ang- 
 lais. Je les abandoune k leur sens r^prouv^, et je ne me 
 r^tracterai pas pour leurplaire." 
 
 1 Au Ddc de Richelieu : A Ferney, 11 septembre. 
 " J'ignore si vous honorates I'academie de votre presence 
 le jour qu'on y lut oe petit ouvrage [his letters of August 
 25]. On pent pardonner k des Anglais de vanter leurs 
 Gilles et leurs Polichinelles ; mais est-il permis k des gens de 
 lettres fran9ais d'oser pr^f^rer des parades si basses, si d^- 
 gotitantes et si absurdes, aux chefs d'oeuvre de Cinna et 
 
206 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 The natural result of all this was to increase 
 vastly the interest in Shakespeare, and to 
 create a great amount of talk. Unfortunately 
 for Voltaire's hopes, he was not taken as 
 seriously in the matter as he wished and in- 
 tended to be. The international war between 
 France and England, which he seemed to think 
 was begun, died a tranquil death of mere inani- 
 tion. There was plenty of fighting on Vol- 
 taire's part, but a lamentable want of spirit 
 and action in Shakespeare's country. Little 
 notice was taken of the matter, even of Vol- 
 taire's letters to the Academy, which were 
 translated into English and published in Lon- 
 don in 1777.1 
 
 The English, secure in their belief that 
 Shakespeare was superior to all other drama- 
 tists, ancient and modern, treated this attack 
 upon him with silent contempt, for the most 
 part, much as a mastiff might regard the fren- 
 
 d'Athalie ? II me paralt que tous les honnltes gens de 
 Paris (oar il y en a encore) sent indign^s de oette m^prisable 
 insolence. Le sieur Le Tourneur a os6 mettre le nom du 
 roi et de la reine ^ la t6te de son Edition, qui doit dfehonorer 
 la France dans toute I'Europe. C'est assur^ment au petit 
 neveu de notre fondateur k prot^ger la nation dans cette 
 guerre." 
 
 ^ Lounsbury, Shakespeare and Voltaire, p. 401, 
 
THE TRANSLATOR OF SHAKESPEARE 207 
 
 zied yelpings of an angry terrier. With the 
 exception of brief notices in the periodicals 
 and a few scattering comments on Voltaire's 
 attack, the only movements from England in 
 this international warfare were Baretti's Dis- 
 cours sur Shakespeare et sur Voltaire in 1777 ^ 
 and a B^rench translation of Mrs. Montague's 
 essay. 2 Voltaire, for his part, carried on the 
 battle almost single-handed, aided chiefly by 
 the faithful La Harpe and d'Alembert, and 
 applauded more or less loudly by the con- 
 servative party in literature. As time went 
 on, he became more and more discouraged 
 before the advancing tide of enthusiasm for 
 Shakespeare, but even in February, 1778, on 
 his last visit to Paris, dealt the English poet a 
 final, though ineffective, blow in his preface to 
 Irene. 
 
 If England were backward and indifferent in 
 fighting for the reputation of her great drama- 
 tist, the partisans of Shakespeare in France 
 showed a fiery and unwearied zeal in defending 
 
 1 Discours sur Shakespeare et sur M. de Voltaire, par 
 J. Baretti, London and Paris, 1777, in 8vo, 186 pp. 
 
 2 Apologie de Shakespeart (sic) en reponse & la critique de 
 Voltaire, traduite de I'anglois, Paris et Londres, 1777, in 8vo. 
 
208 PIERRE LE TOUENEUR 
 
 him, and rallied valiantly round his standard 
 with courage and devotion. As the successive 
 volumes of the translation appeared, the con- 
 test went on hotly in the periodicals, and not 
 until 1780 did the warmth or interest of the 
 discussion show any signs of diminution. 
 
 "There are very strong parties pro and con 
 here at Paris," wrote an Englishwoman to Gar- 
 rick in 1777. " All the Voltairians cry it down ; 
 others again are more enthusiastic (if possible) 
 than we are who have tasted of the Avon. 
 For my own part, the best I can say of it is, 
 that it is Shakespeare reduced to the simple 
 state of nature, despoiled of his gorgeous pomp 
 and majesty, his brilliancy and his graces, but 
 not disfigured." ^ 
 
 Grimm,'^ who represented a third, middle 
 party, actively neither for nor against Shake- 
 speare, gave a clear and judicious account of 
 the whole matter in a letter to Diderot in 
 March, 1776. He dismissed as unworthy of 
 discussion the question of Shakespeare's merit, 
 
 1 Garrick Correspondence, 1777, Tol. II. p. 214 ; cited by 
 Lounsbury, Shakespeare and Voltaire, p. 409. 
 
 ^ Oorrespondance Littiraire, Grimm, Diderot, 1879, Vol. 
 IX. pp. 214-220. 
 
THE TRANSLATOR OF SHAKESPEARE 209 
 
 declaring that his works would not have en- 
 dured for two centuries the delight and admira- 
 tion of the English nation had they not possessed 
 value and power. He deplored the petty anger 
 of Voltaire and his followers, and pleaded for a 
 tolerant and impartial judgment of the English 
 poet. He believed that each system of dramatic 
 composition had its merits, and that it was fool- 
 ish to insist that one was better than the other. 
 He felt, however, that there was danger in an 
 excessive admiration for Shakespeare, for young 
 and inexperienced dramatists might be tempted 
 to imitate him slavishly, and, lacking his genius, 
 would succeed in reproducing only his faults. 
 
 The most active supporters of Shakespeare 
 and his translators were Mercier and the Cheva- 
 lier de Rutlidge. The former, who had already 
 announced himself as a radical in matters of 
 dramatic taste by his essay upon Dramatic Art,^ 
 continued to express his advanced ideas in let- 
 ters to the Journal Frangois, Anglois et Italien.^ 
 He warmly encouraged the translators in their 
 
 1 Essai sur VArt Dramatique, Amsterdam, 1773. 
 
 2 Journal Francois, Anglois et Italien, August and Sep- 
 tember, 1777. Also De la Litterature et des Litterateurs, 
 suivi d^un Nouvel Mxamen de la Tragedie Frangoise, Paris, 
 
 1775. 
 
 p 
 
210 PIEREE LE TOUKNEUR 
 
 undertaking, commended their method, gave an 
 enthusiastic account of Othello and Julius 
 CcBsar, and fully justified Shakespeare's defi- 
 ance of the rules. ^ 
 
 The Chevalier de Rutlidge, for his part, had 
 boldly asserted the superiority of Shakespeare 
 over all other dramatists, and had defended the 
 translators, in his reply to Voltaire's letters to 
 the Academy.2 Two years later, he commented 
 again upon Le Tourneur's translation through 
 
 1 " We beg leave to refer our readers to tlie preface pre- 
 fixed to this work [the translation of Shakespeare] , a dis- 
 course abounding with sound sense, and written with energy 
 and precision, in which these fantastic rules, so supersti- 
 tiously adhered to by the poets in our days, are exploded by 
 arguments founded on reason as well as experience, and so 
 conclusive withal, that to controvert the truth of them were 
 deserving to be answered with silent contempt ; the marks 
 of conviction they bear are such that they would seem tacitly 
 to reproach us for having suffered ourselves to be so long 
 circumscribed by ridiculous rules, productive of no sort of 
 advantage ; what, indeed, is that which is generally and im- 
 properly called irregularity? nothing more than the connec- 
 tion of facts andthe natural order of events. . . . Penetrated 
 by the influence of this vast genius we behold him as 
 superior to all other dramatic poets as St. Peter's Church at 
 Rome is to all other churches." — Journal Franqois, Anglois 
 et Italien, August and September, 1777. 
 
 " Observations a MM. de V Academic a V Occasion (Z'-M»e 
 Certaine Lettre de M. Voltaire, par le Chevalier de Rut- 
 lidge, Paris, 1776. 
 
THE TRANSLATOR OF SHAKESPEARE 211 
 
 his periodical, Le Bahillard, an imitation of the 
 English Tatler. Although heartily approving 
 the attempt, he considered Le Tourneur's work 
 inferior to his adaptations of Young. He under- 
 stands Shakespeare, he said ; sometimes the 
 touch of the great poet is felt, but, as a trans- 
 lator, he fails to seize a certain brusque and 
 laconic sublimity, certain vigorous strokes which 
 characterize his model. 
 
 In the course of his remarks, Rutlidge, with- 
 out calling any names, took occasion to give 
 more than one fling at the criticism of Shake- 
 speare, based upon ignorance, which was being 
 widely promulgated by "I'Oracle de Ferney 
 et ses echos." In this connection, he related 
 an amusing anecdote which he declared to be 
 true. A man of letters, he said, happened one 
 day to be in one of the principal book-shops 
 of the city, when there came in a person who 
 showed plainly by his dress and affected man- 
 ners that he was some one of importance. This 
 person asked for the latest new books, picked 
 them up one after another, turned over the 
 leaves, and bought nothing. Finally, he was 
 asked if he would like the translation of 
 Shakespeare. He took it, turned it over, then 
 
212 PIEREE LE TOURNBUR 
 
 refused it, adding in a pedagogic and absent- 
 minded manner that he had already read that in 
 the " Greek Theatre" of the Pere Brumoy. " It 
 will be argued, I think," concluded Rutlidge, 
 "that if this celebrated English poet and his 
 translator have many judges as learned as this, 
 their adversaries have an easy task."^ Rut- 
 lidge followed this with a letter addressed 
 directly to Le Tourneur, in which he com- 
 mended the work, and urged him to continue 
 it, regretting only that he had not seen fit to 
 give an outline of some of the more trivial 
 scenes, instead of translating them completely.^ 
 
 1 Le Babillard, Aug. 15, 1778, Vol. II. p. 335. 
 
 2 LE BABILLARD 
 
 k 
 M. Le Tourneur, Traduoteur des Tragedies de Shakespeare. 
 " Vous avez eu la bont6 de m'envoyer les deux nouveaux 
 volumes de voire traduction d'un grand Pofete ; le succfes de 
 cette entreprise difficile doit vous d^ommager de la passion 
 avec laquelle oa vous attaque. Ceux pour qui les cabales 
 litt^raires ne sont que de vains et tumultueux dfilires de 
 I'amour propre des Auteurs, vous liront avec plaisir et vous 
 rendront justice, ainsi qu'Si I'Ecrivain original que vous en- 
 treprenez de nous faire connoitre. Personne n'est moins 
 propre que moi k faire I'^loge de votre Traduction, ni k 
 entreprendre sa critique : I'une et I'autre seroient d'autant 
 plus suspeotes que quelques personnes s'imagiment que j'y 
 ai part, et que d'autres m'ont pr§t6 des sentiments bien 
 61oign^s de ceux que m'ont inspire votre courage et votre 
 
THE TRANSLATOR OP SHAKESPEARE 213 
 
 assiduity k remplir une tSche aussi p^niMe. Permettez-moi 
 cependant de yous donner un avis, qui vous sera plus utile 
 que toutes les vaines decisions que je pourrois hasarder sur 
 votre travail, continuez-le, Monsieur : son importance et son 
 prix se feront sentir d'eux-mSmes ; mais il est une espfece 
 d'hommes dont vous devez vous d^fier beaucoup plus que 
 de vos aveugles d^traoteurs, ou de oeux de votre Auteur, ce 
 sont ses plus grands enthousiastes. Je n'ai jamais pens6 
 que tout fflt ton dans Shakespeare : au contraire, j'y vols 
 une multitude de d^fauts que ce puissant g^nie auroit 6vit& 
 s'il fflt venu deux sifecles plus tard, je pense qu'il seroit 
 n^cessaire de d^velopper et de peindre aux Lecteurs le 
 mouvement et Taction de quelques scenes, au lieu d'en 
 traduire fidfelement le dialogue. Ce mouvement et oette 
 action y sont noy& et an^antis. Un lecteur frangois s'en 
 fera difficilement de lui-meme un tableau, parce que c'est 
 une chose 6trang6re pour ses yeux et fort ^loign^e de son 
 imagination ; il seroit done n^oessaire qu'il fiit averti et 
 prSvenu ; je vous citerai dans ce genre les premieres scenes 
 de Coriolan. Les Critiques qui ne voient pas toujours bien 
 loin, les trouveront ridicules et triviales peut-§tre : ex^cut^es 
 en grand et mises en action sous les regards, elles auroient 
 produit I'effet auquel le Pofete les a destinies ; elles auroient 
 fait connoitre ce peuple menteur et f actieux, qui justifie par ses 
 excfes le m^pris de son Hgros. Voil^, ce que j'aurois quelque- 
 fois d^sir^ dans quelques unes des Pifeoes de Shakespeare que 
 vous avez traduites. C'est un des moyens qu'il emploie le plus 
 heureusement dans toutes ses grandes machines dramatiques. 
 "Vous avez. Monsieur, k combattre les pr^jugfe de I'amour- 
 propre : ce sont les plus obstin^s et les plus furieux. At- 
 tendez-vous k quelques traits d'esprit de la part de Duluth 
 et de tous les Zoiles de cette force. Je suis persuade qu'ils 
 vous alarmeront peu, et que vous leur rendez trop de justice 
 pour regarder d^sormais une seule fois derrifere vous dans la 
 carrifere oti vous courez." — Le Babillard, Aug. 30, 1778, 
 Vol. n. p. 382. 
 
214 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 The translator also received high praise in 
 the Journal Anglois ^ and in the Annie LittS- 
 raire. The latter published detailed studies of 
 the plays as they appeared, and while highly com- 
 mending Le Tourneur and his work, repeated 
 Voltaire's early statement that Shakespeare 
 was a great genius, but wild and uncultivated.^ 
 Even the more tolerant and enlightened French 
 minds were shocked by Shakespeare's constant 
 violation of the rules, by his mingling of the 
 comic and the tragic, by his introduction of 
 common people, by his scenes of violence, and by 
 his vulgarity and coarseness of speech. These 
 faults, however, should be looked upon with 
 indulgence, for they were defects due to the 
 barbarism of the time in which Shakespeare 
 lived, to ignorance of the rules of art, and to 
 the necessity he was under of amusing a rough 
 and uncultured people. They are, indeed, 
 atoned for by the remarkable power and beauty 
 to be found among the plays. Nevertheless, 
 continued the Annie lAttiraire, it is a pity for 
 the reader to have to wade through so much 
 
 1 Journal Anglois, 1776. 
 
 2 Annee LUt&raire, 1776, Vol. II. p. 30. 
 
 " Les ouvrages du g^nie ressemblent k ceux de la nature, 
 qui n'a point dans ses travaux' la froide r6gularit6 des pro- 
 ductions del' art." 
 
THE TRANSLATOR OF SHAKESPEARE 215 
 
 that is trivial and uninteresting. " Des extraits 
 bien faits du theatre de ce Poete auroient 6te 
 une veritable richesse pour notre litterature, 
 mais qu'aura-t-il fait pour le profit de ses lecteurs 
 en leur faisant acheter 20 volumes d'ennui par 
 souscription, quand deux ou trois volumes 
 auroient suffi pour leur curiosite et pour leur 
 plaisir ? " ^ But in spite of occasional impa- 
 tience, the general attitude of the Annee Litte- 
 raire is shown by the concluding paragraph in 
 its study of Henry VI. in 1782: 
 
 "Nous invitons nos jeunes Poetes qui se 
 destinent a I'etude du theatre, a lire cet auteur 
 avec precaution; il pent servir a elever I'&me, 
 a inspirer des sentimens tragiques, a fournir 
 des situations, mais il ne donnera jamais la 
 moindre idee de la vraisemblance, de ces regies 
 qui ont forme les Sophocle, les Euripide, les 
 Racine. Cependant, nous ne saurions temoigner 
 trop de reconnoissance au Traducteur ; il etend 
 le nombre de nos richesses litteraires, il nous 
 met en etat de comparer, ce qui augmente les 
 connoissances et fortifie consequemment les 
 talens. La lecture de Shakespeare est capable 
 d'echauffer, de developper les semences du 
 
 1 Annee Litteraire, 1780, Vol. III. p. 289. 
 
216 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 genre tragique. C'est done une nouvelle 
 obligation que les Arts ont a M. Le Tourneur, 
 connu deja si avantageusement par sa belle 
 traduction ou imitation d'Young." ^ 
 
 The Journal des Savants followed the exam- 
 ple of the Annie LittSraire, and gave full ac- 
 counts of the different plays as they were 
 published. It applauded Le Tourneur for his 
 work, which enabled the French people to com- 
 pare their own drama with that of another na- 
 tion, and thus broaden ideas and form the 
 general taste, but declared that, after all, this 
 newly discovered power and beauty must be 
 used with wisdom and discretion, as had already 
 been done by M. de Voltaire.^ 
 
 1 Annee Litteraire, 1782, Vol. I. p. 73. 
 
 2 Journal des Savants, 1779, June, p. 429. 
 
 " Lorsque tout le bien et tout le mal sont dits sur Shake- 
 speare, il faut convenir que M. Le Tourneur rend un grand 
 service h notre Litt^rature en nous faisant mieux connoitre 
 ce slngulier gSnie : que o'est par la comparaison du goflt des 
 diff^rentes nations que les id^es s'^tendent et que le goflt 
 gi5n&al peut se former et que M. de Voltaire lui-m§me s'est 
 bien trouvfi, dans plusieurs de ses ouvrages d' avoir dtudi^ le 
 g^nie anglois ; il est vrai qu'il faut savoir employer comme 
 lui oes beautfe 6trang6res, les adapter k sa langue, les fondre 
 et les placer de manifere que la oouleur n'en soit ni effac^e 
 ni trop tranchante : en un mot, qu'il faut avoir le gout de 
 M. de Voltaire." 
 
THE TRANSLATOR OF SHAKESPEARE 217 
 
 The Journal de politique et de litterature, how- 
 ever, and the Mercure de France were far from 
 sharing such commendatory views, but ranged 
 themselves from the start on the side of conser- 
 vatism and Voltaire. The former, directed by 
 La Harpe after 1776, fiercely attacked the trans- 
 lation, declaring it to be a work due entirely to 
 party spirit, unfaithful to the English original, 
 incorrect as to French, and advancing, in its ill- 
 written prefaces, views as foolish as they were 
 revolting to all persons of refinement and taste. 
 It called attention proudly to the way in which 
 Voltaire had " embellished " Shakespeare in 1730, 
 and indulged in a scathing and sarcastic criti- 
 cism of the translation of certain scenes of The 
 Tempest and Othello.^ In this its example was 
 followed by the Mercure,"^ which, although de- 
 ploring the excessive severity of La Harpe, con- 
 ceded that the most just appreciation that could 
 be made upon Shakespeare had already been ut- 
 tered by Voltaire, not, indeed, in his later years 
 of anger, but at the time when he first made 
 the English poet known to France. The Jour- 
 nal de Paris and the Bihliotheque des Sciences 
 
 1 See Appendix D. 
 
 2 Mercure de France, 1781, May ; 1782, Jvdy. 
 
218 PIERRE LE TOURNEUK 
 
 et des Beaux Arts stood discreetly on the fence 
 and attempted to agree with both parties at once. 
 All this discussion in the periodicals, which 
 went on with more or less vigor for seven years, 
 naturally helped to make an important event of 
 the translation. No work was more talked of 
 or so widely read. It was the fashion of the 
 hour, and every one had an opinion, either his 
 own or a borrowed one. The individual the 
 least affected by the excitement was apparently 
 Le Tourneur himself. He went on calmly and 
 undisturbed in the work he had undertaken, 
 and as soon as it was completed, he hastened to 
 take up another, that of Clarissa Harlowe. His 
 letter of surprised incredulousness, which was 
 published at the time of Voltaire's letters to the 
 Academy, is the only direct reply he seems ever 
 to have made to the torrents of praise and 
 blame poured unremittingly upon his head. But 
 he referred to the matter once or twice, showing 
 plainly that if he considered it beneath his no- 
 tice, the quarrel had, nevertheless, left its im- 
 press upon him. In the preface to his edition of 
 Ossian, which came out in 1777, he took occasion 
 to mention that in these days it was necessary 
 to declare one's profession of taste as well as of 
 
THE TRANSLATOR OF SHAKESPEARE 219 
 
 faith, under pain of litei'ary excommunication.^ 
 Again, in a notice to the subscribers prefixed to 
 volume nine of the translation, which appeared 
 in 1781, he spoke with natural and apparent 
 satisfaction of the success of his work : 
 
 " Get ouvrage a triomphe, apparemment par 
 son merite reel, des singuliers obstacles qu'il a 
 essuyes d'abord, de I'espece de guerre assez bi- 
 zarre qu'on lui a declaree a sa naissance, du 
 courroux extraordinaire d'un grand Poete, le 
 premier panegyriste de Shakespeare, tant qu'il 
 fut inconnu, et devenu son etrange ennemi des 
 qu'on I'a traduit. A tant d'alarmes, a ce tocsin 
 des critiques, qui multiplioient les clameurs 
 beaucoup plus que les raisons, on eut dit que 
 Shakespeare etoit un ennemi qui mena9oit d'en- 
 vahir la France, et que la traduction d'un Poete 
 Anglois, qui jadis donnoit un titre litteraire, etoit 
 devenue une espece d'attentat centre la Patrie. 
 
 " Enfin tout s'est apaise, et il paroit qu'on con- 
 vient assez aujourd'hui, les uns hautement, les 
 autres k demi voix, que cet Auteur etranger a 
 un merite qui n'est pas ordinaire. II paroit 
 qu'a mesure qu'on le lit, on reconnoit quemalgre 
 les defauts qu'on pent lui reprocher, soit centre 
 1 See p. 95. 
 
220 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 le gout, soit contre notre maniere et notre habi- 
 tude de voir et de sentir, defauts dont il seroit 
 bien etonnant qu'il fut exempt, ce n'en est pas 
 moins une mine riche de genie, de belles scenes, 
 de situations neuves, de caracteres et de beautes 
 dramatiques accumulees, oii Ton puise deja plus 
 ou moins heureusement, et dont nos Auteurs 
 feront de jour en jour un utile emploi, au profit 
 meme du Theatre FranQois, et des plaisirs de la 
 Nation. 
 
 " Le Traducteur fait tous ses efforts pour ap- 
 procher de son original, et pour en conserver 
 I'energie et la couleur sans blesser sa langue. 
 Quant a la fidelite de sa traduction, dont cer- 
 tains journalistes se sont permis de parler en 
 aveugles, il a pour garant le suffrage de juges, 
 sans doute eclaires, et du moins les plus compe- 
 tents sur ce point. II pent, sans orgueil, citer 
 ici le temoignage des Anglois, imprim6 dans 
 I'edition recente de ce Poete." ^ 
 
 1 "Let me not forget tlie justice due to tliese ingenious 
 Frenchmen whose skill and industry * in the execution of 
 their very difficult undertaking is only exceeded by such a 
 display of candour, as would serve to cover the imperfec- 
 tions of much less elegant and judicious writers." — Tom. I. 
 p. 210, seconde Edition de Samuel Johnson and George 
 Steevens, Londres, 1778. 
 
 * "Fidelity" in 8d edition, 1785, Tol. I. p. 216. 
 
THE TRANSLATOR OF SHAKESPEARE 221 
 
 Le Tourneur, furthermore, had already taken 
 a quiet and indirect revenge upon his detractors 
 by printing, as a preface to volume seven the 
 year before, parts of Mrs. Montague's letter, 
 and some of the criticism of Eschenburg, who 
 was, at the same time, getting out a new edition 
 of a German translation by Wieland. Eschen- 
 burg treated Voltaire and his supporters with 
 scant respect, declaring that the former was an 
 imitator of Shakespeare, and referring to his 
 criticism of Julius Caesar as "froide et jalouse." 
 
 But with these few exceptions, Le Tourneur 
 treated the wliole quarrel with dignified silence. 
 As he said, his work succeeded by its own 
 merits. He accomplished his end. He made 
 the French people acquainted with Shakespeare. 
 His translation not only aroused national inter- 
 est, it became the standard through which his 
 countrymen were to judge Shakespeare, and an 
 edition of it, revised by Guizot, is still in use at 
 the present day. 
 
 The question now arises as to the nature of 
 the translation which aroused so fierce a dis- 
 cussion and which played so important a part 
 in the history of Shakespeare in France. Be- 
 fore entering upon an examination of its merits 
 
222 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 and demerits, however, it may be of interest to 
 inquire what was the purpose and method of 
 the translators in making it. This they explain 
 clearly and at length in the " Avis sur cette 
 Traduction " which closes the introductory 
 matter to volume one. 
 
 " C'est une traduction exacte et vraiment 
 fidele que nous donnons ici," they begin confi- 
 dently ; " c'est une copie ressemblante oil Ton 
 retrouvera I'ordonnance, les attitudes, le coloris, 
 les beautes et les defauts du tableau. Par cette 
 raison meme elle n'est pas, et ne doit pas etre 
 toujours rigoureusement litterale ; ce seroit etre 
 infidele a la verite et trahir la gloire du poete. 
 II y a souvent des metaphores et des expres- 
 sions qui, rendues mot a mot dans notre langue 
 seroient basses ou ridicules, lorsqu'elles sont 
 nobles dans I'original ; car en Anglois il est tres 
 peu de mots bas. . . . Ainsi le devoir d'etre fide- 
 les nous imposoit celui de substituer a une meta- 
 phore qui, en Francois seroit devenue abjecte et 
 populaire, une metaphore ^quivalente, qui con- 
 servat la dignite de I'original, et de chercher un 
 autre mot pour rendre le mot qui se trouveroit 
 bas dans notre langue, si on le traduisoit, comme 
 traduisent les dictionnaires." The translators 
 
THE TRANSLATOR OP SHAKESPEARE 223 
 
 regret that a large number of the beauties of 
 metre and harmony of words have necessarily 
 disappeared in their rendering. In order to 
 save as many as possible they have followed 
 Shakespeare's arrangement of phrases, his turns 
 of expression, and even his inversions, as far as 
 they could, in the hope that they would have 
 even more grace and energy in French. But, 
 they conclude, prudently, " Si quelque fois on 
 est arrete par une expression moins noble, on 
 verra qu'elle tient au caractere et que nous 
 I'avons preferee a un terme plus releve pour 
 conserver a I'original sa couleur, et au caractere, 
 sa verite." The same desire to transport the 
 spirit of Shakespeare into their own tongue had 
 caused them to hazard at times an expression 
 either obsolete or new. To this expedient they 
 have had recourse, not from any bold desire to 
 perfect the French language, but in the ne- 
 cessity of despair. Finally, they attempt to 
 forestall possible criticism for their rash and 
 unwarranted procedure by the words, " Si la 
 critique a la generosite de nous indiquer quel- 
 que ressource d'expression que notre vue bornee 
 n'ait pas aper9ue, nous profiterons aussi de ses 
 bienfaits dans une nouvelle edition." 
 
224 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 With this high ideal before them, the transla- 
 tors set to work. They began with the tragedies, 
 which always seem to have attracted the French 
 more than the comedies. The first two volumes 
 upon which the three scholars labored contained 
 Othello, The Tempest, and Julius Ccesar. Le 
 Tourneur, when left alone to complete the task, 
 continued with the tragedies, and in 1778 pub- 
 lished the third and fourth volumes, containing 
 Coriolanus, Macbeth, Cymheline, and Romeo and 
 Juliet. These were followed by King Lear, 
 Hamlet, Antony and Cleopatra, and Timon of 
 Athens, in volumes five and six the next 
 year, and the seven succeeding volumes were 
 devoted to the historical plays, the last seven 
 of all, from 1781-1783, containing the comedies. 
 
 It is to be noted, in regard to this translation 
 as a whole, that it was not only a bold under- 
 taking, but also a sincere attempt to produce a 
 thorough and scholarly piece of work. A 
 moment's comparison with what had been al- 
 ready done in the translation of Shakespeare 
 shows the immense advantage of this over all that 
 had preceded it. In the first place, the large 
 amount of prefatory matter, the life of Shake- 
 speare, and the comments of his various editors 
 
THE TRANSLATOR OF SHAKESPEARE 225 
 
 in England, men above all others qualified 
 to speak with authority, were an honest effort 
 to explain his apparently anomalous position 
 and to give the reader some kind of a literary 
 background. The translation itself was made 
 with the greatest care, not from one edition 
 alone, but from a comparative study of the 
 different texts, and was enriched with notes, 
 taken, in most cases, from the English editors. 
 An attempt was made, furthermore, at com- 
 pleteness, by giving, as far as possible, the 
 sources of each play, and some critical com- 
 ments on it. With all their good intentions 
 and in spite of all the scrupulous care which 
 they professed to use in their work, the trans- 
 lators cannot be said, from the modern point of 
 view, to have reached the lofty standard of in- 
 terpretation which they had set themselves to 
 attain. On the score of accuracy, the transla- 
 tion leaves much to be desired. Many passages 
 are inadequately and some wrongly translated. 
 The methods of the interpreter of Young are 
 clearly perceptible, and Le Tourneur's desire to 
 present his author in the most favorable light leads 
 him, not infrequently, to try to embellish his origi- 
 nal. To any one already acquainted with his 
 
226 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 work, however, and remembering the ideal of 
 the eighteenth century in regard to the privi- 
 leges and prerogatives of the translator, it will 
 not be a matter for sui-prise to find many liber- 
 ties taken with the text. Figures and meta- 
 phors are changed, coarse expressions softened, 
 paraphrase is employed, words and phrases in- 
 serted, occasional sentences, paragraphs, and 
 plays upon words are omitted or explained 
 in a note. Stage directions are frequently 
 added to give color and vividness to the scene. 
 For example : " Desdemona entre, jeune, belle, 
 paree de perles et de diamans suivant I'usage 
 de Venise. Son front est serein, son maintien 
 annonce la pudeur. lago I'accompagne suivi 
 des ofiBciers du Senat."^ The English has 
 merely : " Enter Desdemona, lago, and Attend- 
 ants." ^ In accordance with the tradition of 
 the French theatre, the entry of a new actor 
 upon the stage is marked by the beginning of 
 a new scene. Otherwise, Shakespeare's arrange- 
 ment is scrupulously followed. In almost every 
 case where Le Tourneur has added more than a 
 
 ^ Shakespeare, dMi^ au Roi, Vol. I. Othello, Act I. Scene 9. 
 '^ Shakespeare, ed. Johnson and Steevens, 3d edition, 
 1785, Vol. X. Othello, Act I. Scene 3. 
 
THE TRANSLATOR OF SHAKESPEARE 227 
 
 word, changed the metaphor, or amplified to 
 any extent, he gives the English reading con- 
 scientiously in a note, with a literal rendering 
 or an explanation of the exact meaning of the 
 phrase. On the whole, the thought is pretty 
 well rendered, though the translation is far 
 from being as exact as its authors claimed. 
 Nevertheless, it preserves the essential char- 
 acteristics of Shakespeare and now and then 
 catches and reflects something of his atmos- 
 phere and spirit. 
 
 Le Tourneur's skill in a fairly literal render- 
 ing of poetry and of oratory will be readily seen 
 by a glance at his version of one of Ariel's songs 
 in The Tempest, and the beginning of Antony's 
 famous speech over the body of Csesar.^ 
 
 1 " Amis, Romains, Compatriotes, pretez moi I'Oreille. Je 
 viens pour inhumer C^sar, non pour le louer. Le mal que 
 font les hommes vit aprfes eux : le bien est souvent enseveli 
 avec leurs cendres. Qu'il en soit ainsi de C&ar. — Le noble 
 Brutus vous a dit que Cfear fut ambitieux : s'il fut tel, o'6toit 
 une faute grave et C^sar I'a rigoureusement expire. — Ici, 
 de I'aveu de Brutus et des autres, car Bratus est un homme 
 d'honneur, et tous les autres aussi sont des hommes d'hon- 
 neur, je viens pour parler aux fun^railles de C&ar. II 6toit 
 men ami, il fut fidfele et juste envers moi; mais Brutus dit 
 qu'il 6toit ambitieux et certes Brutus est un iiomme d'hon- 
 neur. — C^sar a ramen6 dans Rome une foule de captifs, 
 dont les rangons ont rempli les coffres publics ; est-ce en 
 
228 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 In the matter of style, Shakespeare, in his 
 journey across the Channel, inevitably suffered 
 a "sea change" into something which was 
 " strange " at least, if not " rich." Le Tour- 
 neur's desire to be exact, and at the same time 
 to make his author speak a language pure and 
 noble as befitted the ideal of the French classic 
 
 ce point qu'il parut ambitieux? Lorsque les pauvres g^- 
 missoient, Cfear pleuroit. L'ambition seroit form^e d'une 
 trempe plus dure. Cependant Brutus dit qu'il fitoit ambi- 
 tieux, et Brutus est un homme plein d'honneur. — Vous 
 avez tous vu qu'aux Luperoales trois fois je lui pr&entai 
 une oouronne de Roi, et que trois fois il la refusa. Etoit-ce 
 lii de I'ambitioQ ? Mais Brutus dit qu'il 6toit ambitieux et 
 stirement Brutus est homme d'honneur. Je ne parle point 
 pour d^sapprouver ce que Brutus a dit, mais je suis ici pour 
 dire ce que je sais. — Vous I'aimiez tous autrefois, et ce ue 
 fut pas sans cause : quelle cause vous emp§che done aujour- 
 d'hui de pleurer sur lui ? — discernement tu as fui chez les 
 brutes grossiferes, et les bommes out perdu leur raison 1 — 
 Soyez indulgent pour moi : mon ooeur est 1^, dans ce cer- 
 ceuil aveo C&ar: jusqu'Si ce que je I'ai rappel^ k moi, il 
 faut que je m'arr§te. — Act III. Scene 6. Vol. I. p. 289. 
 " A cinq brasses sous les eaux ton Pere est gisant. 
 Ses OS revivent changes en corail pur. 
 Oil furent ses yeux deux perles brillent. 
 Rien de lui n'est fldtri dans le tombeau. 
 Tout en lui a ressenti la puissance de la mer, 
 Et s'est rev§tu d'une substance pr^cieuse et nouvelle. 
 D'heure en heure les nymphes de la mer tintent son glas. 
 Ecoute 1 J'entens leurs sons, dont les ondes bourdonnent." 
 — Vol. I. p. 53, Act I. Scene 5. 
 
THE TEANSLATOR OF SHAKESPEARE 229 
 
 stage, resulted in a style which was often, as his 
 critics justly remarked, neither Shakespearian 
 nor yet distinctively French. In his effort to 
 render Shakespeare in the " style noble " he 
 forgot, or failed to see, that one of the most 
 striking characteristics of the English poet is 
 his simplicity of expression. In Le Tourneur's 
 rendering he is often elegant, wordy, bombas- 
 tic. "A man" frequently becomes "un guer- 
 rier " ; "a horse," " un coursier " ; "a church," 
 " un temple." The witches in Macbeth, are " ma- 
 giciennes," the devil "I'oracle des enfers." The 
 watch dog and the hunting dog appear as 
 "I'espece qui fait sentinelle, I'autre qui lance 
 le gibier dans les forets." A bold figure of 
 speech becomes often a colorless and conven- 
 tional expression, as : 
 
 " Sleep shall neither night nor day 
 Hang upon his penthouse lid." 
 
 — Macbeth, I. 3. 
 
 " Ni nuit, ni jour le sommeil ne reposera sur 
 sa paupiere. " ^ 
 
 Many pages could easily be filled with similar 
 and even worse examples of inadequacy, both 
 
 1 Cited byBeljame, Macbeth, teste critique, Paris, 1897, 
 Introd. 
 
230 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 in accuracy and in style. But as a whole, Le 
 Tourneur's prose is generally clear, and has 
 a certain bombastic dignity which too often de- 
 generates into feebleness and awkwardness, but 
 which, at times, rises to a rhythmical march, 
 through which faintly echoes the majesty of 
 Shakespeare's stately verse. 
 
 But instead of dwelling upon detached phrases 
 and single sentences, it will be of more service 
 in gaining an idea of Le Tourneur's style as a 
 whole, to consider his translation of longer and 
 more complete passages. For the sake of show- 
 ing his power of rendering a difficult selection 
 it may be interesting to compare his translation 
 of the celebrated monologue in Hamlet with an 
 earlier version, Voltaire's, and a later one, that 
 of Francois Victor Hugo, in 1859. 
 
 Voltaire's version, printed in the Lettre sur 
 la TragSdie, ^ is as follows : 
 
 " Etre ou n'etre pas, c'est Ik la question ; 
 S'il est plus noble dans I'esprit de souffrir 
 Les piqures et les fleches de I'afEreuse fortune, 
 Ou de prendre les armes centre une mer de trouble, 
 Et, en s'opposant Ji eux, les finir ? Mourir, dormir, 
 Rien de plus, et par ce sommeil dire : Nous terminons 
 
 * Lettres Philosophiques, Paris, 1731 
 
THE TEANSLATOR OF SHAKESPEARE 231 
 
 Les peines du coeur, et dix rnille chocs naturels 
 
 Dont la chair est heriti^re ; c'est une cousommation 
 
 Ardemmeht desirable, Mourir, donnir : 
 
 Dormir, peut-eti'e r6ver I Ah ! voilh, le mal I 
 
 Car dans ce sommeil de la mort, quels reves aura-t-on, 
 
 Quand on a d^pouille cette enveloppe mortelle? 
 
 C'est Ik ce qui fait penser : c'est 1^ la raison 
 
 Qui donne k la calamity une vie si longue : 
 
 Car qui voudrait supporter les coups et les injures du 
 
 temps, 
 Les torts de I'oppresseur, les dddains de I'orgueilleux, 
 Les angoisses d'un amour meprisd, les d^lais de la justice 
 L'insolence des grandes places et les rebuts 
 Que le nierite patient essuie de I'homme indigne, 
 Quand il peut faire son quietus 
 Avec une simple aiguille h. tete ? qui voudrait porter ces 
 
 fardeaux, 
 Sangloter, suer sous une fatigante vie ? 
 Mais cette crainte de quelque chose aprfes la mort, 
 Ce pays ignore, des bornes duquel 
 Nul voyageur ne revient, embarrasse la volont^, 
 Et nous fait supporter les maux que nous avons, 
 Plut6t que de courir vers d'autres que nous ne connais- 
 
 sons pas. 
 Ainsi la conscience fait des poltrons de nous tous: 
 Ainsi la couleur naturelle de la resolution 
 Est ternie par les pales teintes de la pens^e. 
 Et les entreprises les plus importantes, 
 Par ce respect, tournent leur courant de travers, 
 Et perdent leur nom d'action." 
 
 Perhaps the best criticism of this is in Vol- 
 taire's own words : " II est bien aise de rap- 
 
232 PIEREE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 porter en prose les sottises d'un poets, mais 
 tres difficile de traduire ses beaux vers." 
 
 Le Tourneur renders thus : 
 
 "Btre ou ne pas etre? c'est la la question. 
 . . . S'il est plus noble a I'ame de souffrir les 
 traits poignans de I'injuste fortune, ou, se revol- 
 tant contre cette multitude de maux, de s'op- 
 poser au torrent, et les finir ? Mourir — dormir 
 — Rien de plus, et par ce sommeil, dire : Nous 
 mettons un terme aux angoisses du ccEur, et a 
 cette foule de plaies et de douleurs, I'heritage 
 naturel de cette masse de chair . . . ce point, oil 
 tout est consomme, devroit etre desire avec fer- 
 veur. — Mourir. — Dormir. — Dormir ! Rever 
 peut-etre: oui, voila le grand obstacle: — car 
 de savoir quels songes peuvent survenir dans 
 ce sommeil de la mort, apres que nous nous 
 sommes depouilles de cette enveloppe mortelle, 
 c'est de quoi nous forcer a faire une pause. 
 Voila I'idee qui donne une si longue vie a la 
 calamite. Car quel homme voudroit supporter 
 les traits et les injures du temps, les injustices 
 de I'oppresseur, les outrages de I'orgueilleux, 
 les tortures de I'amour meprise, les longs de- 
 lais de la loi, I'insolence des grands en place, 
 et les avilissans rebuts que le merite patient 
 
THE TRANSLATOR OF SHAKESPEARE 233 
 
 essuie de I'homme sans ame ; lorsqu'avec un 
 poin§on il pourroit lui-meme se procurer le 
 repos? Qui voudroit porter tous ces fardeaux 
 et suer et gemir sous le poids d'une laborieuse 
 vie, si ce n'est que la crainte de quelque ave- 
 nir apres la mort. . . . Cette contree ignoree 
 dont nul voyageur ne revient, plonge la vo- 
 lonte dans une affreuse perplexite, et nous fait 
 preferer de supporter les maux que nous sen- 
 tons, plutot que de fuir vers d'autres maux que 
 nous ne connoissons pas. Ainsi la conscience 
 fait de nous tous des poltrons ; ainsi tout le feu 
 de la resolution la plus determinee se decolore 
 et s'eteint devant la p§,le lueur de cette pensee. 
 Les projets enfantes avec le plus d'energie et 
 d'audace, detournent a cet aspect leur course et 
 retournent dans le neant le I'imagination." — 
 Vol. III. p. 119. 
 
 Finally, Hamlet's speech, after the wave of 
 the Romantic Movement had passed over 
 France, emerges as follows from the hands of 
 Frangois Victor Hugo : 
 
 "^tre ou ne pas etre, c'est la la question. — 
 Y a-t-il plus de noblesse d'ame a subir — la 
 fronde et les fleches de la fortune outrageante — 
 ou bien a s'armer contre une mer de douleurs et 
 
234 PIEREE LE TOUENEUR 
 
 a I'arreter par une revolts ? Mourir . . . dormir, 
 
 — rien de plus ; . . . et dire que par ce sommeil 
 nous mettons fin — aux maux du coeur et aux 
 mille tortures naturelles — qui sont le legs de 
 la chair: c'est la un denouement qu'on doit 
 souhaiter avec ferveur. Mourir . . . dormir, 
 
 — dormir ! peut-etre rever ! Oui, la est I'embar- 
 ras. — Car quels reves peut-il nous venir 
 dans ce sommeil de la mort, — quand nous 
 sommes debarrasses de I'etreinte de cette vie? 
 
 — Voila qui doit nous arreter. C'est cette 
 reflexion la — qui nous vaut la calamite d'une 
 si longue existence. — Qui, en effet, voudrait 
 supporter les flagellations et les dedains du 
 monde, — Tin jure de I'oppresseur, I'humiliation 
 de la pauvrefce, — les angoisses de I'amour me- 
 prise, les lenteurs de la loi, — I'insolence du 
 pouvoir et les rebuffades — que le m6rite r^- 
 sign6 regoit d'hommes indignes, — s'il pouvait 
 en etre quitte — avec un simple poin9on? Qui 
 voudrait porter ces fardeaux, — grogner et suer 
 sous une vie accablante, — si la crainte de quel- 
 que chose apres la mort, — de cette region 
 inexplor^e, d'ou — nul voyageur ne revient, ne 
 troublait la volonte, — et ne nous faisait sup- 
 porter les maux que nous avons — par peur de 
 
THE TRANSLATOR OF SHAKESPEARE 235 
 
 nous lancer dans ceux que nous ne connaissons 
 pas ? — Ainsi la conscience fait de nous tons des 
 laches : — ainsi les couleurs natives de la reso- 
 lution — bl^missent sous les pales reflets de la 
 pensee ; — ainsi les entreprises les plus ener- 
 giques et les plus importantes, — se detournent 
 de leur cours, a cette idee, — et perdent le nom 
 d'action." — Vol. III. Le Second itamlet, Scene 8, 
 p. 239. 
 
 Voltaire's version is clear and accurate, Le 
 Tourneur's feeble and inexact, Hugo's lacks 
 distinction. No one of the three adequately 
 represents the Hamlet of Shakespeare. It is 
 true that this is a passage of unusual depth and 
 difficulty, and one which has been the delight 
 and despair of many a student, actor, and 
 translator. As an example of an entirely dif- 
 ferent kind may be taken a passage of pure 
 love poetrj'-, the farewell of Romeo and Juliet. 
 Le Tourneur renders thus : 
 
 Juliette 
 
 Veux-tu done, deja me quitter ? Le jour 
 est encore loin de paroitre : c'etoit le rossignol 
 et non I'alouette, dont la voix a frappe ton 
 Oreille inquiete. Toate la nuit il chante la-bas 
 
236 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 sur ce grenadier; orois-moi mon Amant : c'etoit 
 le rossignol. 
 
 EoMto 
 
 C'etoit I'alouette qui annonce I'aurore, et 
 non pas le rossignol: vois, ma bien-aimee, ces 
 traits de lumiere, jaloux de notre bonheur, qui 
 percent ces nuages vers I'Orient : tous les flam- 
 beaux de la nuit sont eteints ; et le riant Matin 
 sur la cime des monts nebuleux, un pied leve, se 
 balance, pret h. s'elancer. II me faut ou partir 
 et vivre, ou rester et mourir. 
 
 Juliette 
 
 Non, cette clarte n'est point le jour ; j'en suis 
 slire : c'est quelque meteore qu' exhale le Soleil 
 pour te servir de flambeau cette nuit, et t'6clairer 
 dans ta route vers Mantoue. Demeure encore 
 un moment ; tu ne partiras point si t8t. 
 
 RoMfeo 
 H6 ! bien ! qu'on me surprenne ici, qu'on me 
 conduise a la mort : je suis content si tu le veux 
 ainsi. Je dirai comme toi, que cette lueur gri- 
 satre n'est pas celle du matin, mais le pale reflet 
 de la Lune, et que ce n'est pas I'alouette dont 
 les accents s'elevent et vont frapper la voute 
 
THE TRANSLATOR OF SHAKESPEARE 237 
 
 des cieux. Ah ! crois-moi, j'ai bien plus de pen- 
 chant a rester, que de volonte de partir. He ! 
 bien! que la mort vienne, la mort sera la bien 
 venue: Juliette le veut ainsi. Qu'en dis-tu 
 mon amour ? AUons, causons ensemble : non, 
 ce n'est pas le jour. 
 
 Juliette 
 
 Ah! c'est le jour, c'est le jour: pars de ces 
 lieux, eloignes-toi, fuis. Oui c'est Talouette 
 qui pousse ces accents discords ; que sa voix est 
 aigue et son chant desagreable ! (x) Oh ! pars 
 sans delai: la lumiere croit de plus en plus.^ 
 
 Romeo 
 
 Oui, la lumiere croit . . . et nos maux vont 
 croftre avec elle. 
 — Vol. IV. p. 361, RomSo et Juliette, Acte 
 III. Scene 7. 
 
 1 The (x) marks an omission in Le Tourneur. He trans- 
 lates the omitted verses in a note at the end of the play, 
 (x) Scfene 7, p. 362. 
 
 " On dit quelquefois : I'alouette fait une douce separation. 
 II n'en est pas de mgme de celle-ci ; car c'est elle qui nous 
 s^pare aujourd'hui ; on dit aussi que I'alouette et le crapaud 
 ont troqu§ d'yeux ; oh ! je voudrois qu'ils eussent aussi 
 troqug de voix aujourd'hui." 
 
 "Allusion au proverbes populaire sur les yeux hrillants 
 du crapaud et les yeux ternes et petits de I'alouette." 
 
238 PIEERB LE TOUKNBUR 
 
 Hugo's translation is as follows : 
 
 Juliette 
 Veux-tu done partir ? Le jour n'est pas 
 proche encore: C'etait le rossignol et non 
 I'alouette — dont la voix pergoit ton oreille crain- 
 tive. Toutes les nuits il chante sur le grenadier, 
 la-bas. Crois-moi, Amour, c'etait le rossignol. 
 
 Romeo 
 
 C'etait I'alouette, la messagere du matin, — et 
 non le rossignol. Regarde, Amour, ces lueurs 
 jalouses — qui dentellent le bord des nuages a 
 I'Orient! — Les flambeaux de la nuitsont 6teints, 
 et le jour joyeux — se dresse sur la poiute du 
 pied au sommet brumeux de la montagne. — Je 
 dois partir et vivre, ou rester et mourir. 
 
 Juliette 
 Cette clarte la-bas n'est pas la clarte du jour, 
 je le sais bien, moi ; — c'est quelque meteore que 
 le soleil exhale — pour te servir de torche cette 
 nuit et eclairer ta marche vers Mantoue. Reste 
 done, tu n'as pas besoin de partir encore. 
 
 Romeo 
 Soit! qu'on me prenne, qu'on me mette a 
 mort. — Je suis content, si tu le veux ainsi. 
 
THE TRANSLATOR OF SHAKESPEARE 239 
 
 — Non, cette lueur grise n'est pas le regard du 
 
 matin — elle n'est que le pale reflet du front de 
 
 Cynthia; — et ce n'est pas I'alouette qui frappe 
 
 de notes si hautes la voute du ciel au-dessus de 
 
 nos tetes. J'ai plus le desir de rester que la 
 
 volonte de partir. — Vienne la mort, et elle sera 
 
 la bienvenue. . . . Ainsi le veut Juliette. . . . 
 
 Comment etes-vous, mon ^me ? Causons, il 
 
 n'est pas jour. 
 
 Juliette 
 
 C'est le jour, c'est le jour ! Fuis vite, va- 
 t-en, pars. — C'est I'alouette qui detonne ainsi, 
 
 — et qui lance ces notes rauques, ces strettes 
 
 deplaisantes. — On dit que I'alouette prolongs 
 
 si doucement les accords; cela n'est pas, car elle 
 
 rompt le notre. — On dit, que I'alouette et le 
 
 hideux crapaud ont change d'yeux. — Oh ! que 
 
 n'ont-ils aussi change de voix, — puisque cette 
 
 voix nous arrache effares I'un a I'autre — et te 
 
 chasse d'ici par son hourvari matinal ! — Oh ! 
 
 maintenant, pars. Le jour est de plus en plus 
 
 clair. 
 
 Romeo 
 
 De plus en plus clair. . . . De plus en plus 
 sombre est notre malheur. 
 
 — F. V. Hugo, Vol. VII. p. 314. 
 
240 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 It is easy to find fault with Le Tourneur's 
 translation, and a detailed study of his render- 
 ing of the individual plays confirms the first 
 impression. It is often inaccurate and inade- 
 quate. It contains omissions, amplifications, and 
 changes of the original text. Its style is fre- 
 quently grandiloquent and bomhastic where it 
 should be dignified and simple, indistinct and 
 elegant where it should be clear-cut and force- 
 ful. Nevertheless, it has virtues which atone for 
 its many and serious defects. It presents Shake- 
 speare in his entirety for the first time in French, 
 with an adequate introduction of literary appre- 
 ciation. It is made with a conscientious effort at 
 exactness and a scrupulous care, which, however 
 far from attaining their end, should excite the 
 respect and indulgence of modern scholarship. 
 It catches and preserves again and again some- 
 thing of Shakespeare's atmosphere and spirit. 
 And as, with all its inaccuracies, Florio's trans- 
 lation of Montaigne is preferred by many to 
 the more exact and modern renderings, so, this 
 eighteenth-century translation of Shakespeare, 
 with all its mistakes and frequent bombast is, in 
 some respects, nearer the spirit of the original than 
 the more literal interpretations of later scholars. 
 
THE TRANSLATOR OF SHAKESPEARE 241 
 
 As in the case of Les Nuits d' Young, and of 
 the PoSsies d' Ossian, Le Tourneur's translation 
 of Shakespeare soon became the standard, and 
 remained, indeed, the only complete version of 
 the English poet until well on into the nine- 
 teenth century. A new edition was brought 
 out in 1821, revised and corrected by Guizot,i 
 and a third, the following year, edited by 
 Avenel.2 Twelve years later Havard edited 
 it with the works of Schiller,^ and in 1899 it 
 was reprinted by Charles Vogel for an edition 
 of Shakespeare made for the Bon Marchi,^ with 
 the remark in the preface that this translation 
 seemed the best to the editor, and he therefore 
 intended to use it, despite the criticisms of 
 other translators who sought to discredit it in 
 
 1 Shakespeare, (Euvres completes traduites par Le Tour- 
 neur. Nouvelle Edition, revue et corrigde par P. Guizot et 
 A. P. (Pichot), traduoteur de Lord Byron. Paris, 1821, 13 
 vols, in 8vo. 
 
 2 (Euvres de Shakespeare, traduites de I'anglais par Le 
 Tourneur. Nouvelle Edition corrigge et enrichie de notes de 
 divers commentateurs sur chaque pifeoe, par M. Avenel. 
 Paris, 1822, 12 vols. 
 
 ^ (Euvres dramatiques de Shakespeare, traduites de I'an- 
 glais, par Le Tourneur. Nouvelle Edition. Paris, 1834, 2 
 vols, in 8vo. 
 
 * Shakespeare, revue de la traduction de Le Tourneur, 
 par Charles Vogel, Paris, 1899. 
 
242 PIERRE LE TOUENETJB 
 
 order to advance their own work. This un- 
 qualified approbation was the general feeling of 
 the eighteenth-century press in regard to Le 
 Tourneur's work. With the exception of the 
 partizan attacks of the Journal Politique ^ and 
 the Meroure ^ the translator was praised for the 
 beauty and energy of his style and for his fidel- 
 ity to Shakespeare. For this last quality, in- 
 deed, he was even gently censured, as well as 
 for hazarding too bold and too inelegant ex- 
 pressions.^ By succeeding translators, however, 
 he was treated with much greater seveiity, and 
 M. Beljame,* in particular, cannot forgive such 
 expressions as "determine conime un rat sans 
 queue." — Macbeth, Act I. Scene 3. 
 
 But in any judgment of this first translation 
 of Shakespeare it must be remembered, not only 
 that it was pioneer work, and thus liable to the 
 imperfections of all first attempts, but that an 
 exact, literal translation of Shakespeare was 
 
 1 Journal de Politique et de Litterature, 1776, Vol. I. p. 
 43 ; Vol. 11. p. 597. 1777, Vol. III. p. 531, 1778, Vol. I. 
 p. 25, 96, 150, etc. 
 
 ^ Mercure de France, May, 1781 ; July, 1782. 
 
 ^ Annee Litteraire, 1786, Vol II. 
 
 * Macbeth, texte critique, par A. Beljame, Paris, 1897. 
 The Introduction contains a very severe appreciation of Le 
 Tourneur. 
 
THE TRANSLATOR OF SHAKESPEARE 243 
 
 neither thought of nor desired. Its value lies 
 not in its intrinsic merit as a translation, but in 
 the fact of its existence, in its immediate effects 
 upon the French people, and in its later influence 
 upon the stage. Le Tourneur knew his public 
 and his time. He dared to do what no one be- 
 fore him had ventured and what no one after 
 him attempted for over forty years. His trans- 
 lation did its work. It made the French 
 acquainted with Shakespeare, it aroused interest 
 in him and his work, and its influence was an 
 important factor in the later development of 
 French drama. These services alone should be 
 enough to atone for many imperfections and 
 mistakes, and to secure for Le Tourneur the in- 
 dulgence and gratitude of the modern student. 
 The discussion carried on in the different 
 periodicals during the publication of the trans- 
 lation had its effect. Imitators and commen- 
 tators came forward to express their opinions 
 and to demonstrate their approval or disapproval 
 of Shakespeare's dramatic methods. Ducis con- 
 tinued his adaptations with Le roi Lear in 1783, 
 Macbeth in 1784, Jean sans Terre in 1791, and 
 Othello in 1792, and by a singular irony of fate 
 replaced Voltaire in the Academy of the Im- 
 
244 PIERRE LE TOURNEUE 
 
 mortals. Sedaine, who read with eagerness and 
 delight the translation of Le Tourneur as fast 
 as it appeared, could talk of nothing else, and 
 his enthusiasm called forth the often-quoted re- 
 mark of Grimm : " Vos transports ne me sur 
 prennent point, c'est la joie d'un fils qui retrouve 
 un pere qu'il n'a jamais vu."^ Mercier, who 
 had been one of the first and most enthusiastic ad- 
 mirers of Shakespeare and who had already pro- 
 posed certain bold reforms in the French drama 
 in his Essai sur V Art Dramatique of 1773, con- 
 tinued his efforts by attempting to put his 
 theories into practice in Timon d'Athenes (1794).^ 
 After the death of Voltaire, his campaign against 
 Shakespeare was carried on by Marmontel, 
 d'Alembert, La Harpe, and Marie Joseph 
 Chenier, who supported fiercely the rules and 
 methods of the classic French drama in theory 
 and in practice, and only grudgingly accorded 
 a few sparks of genius to the English poet. The 
 
 1 Auger, Notice sur Sedaine in his (Euvres, Paris, 1813, 
 Vol. I. p. xi. 
 
 2 Other imitators of Shakespeare at this period were Le- 
 gouv6, whose £picharis et Neron (1793) echoed Act V. of 
 Richard III., D^jaur^, whose Imageries ou la Gageure indis- 
 crete (1796) imitated Oymbeline, Bertini in Othello, 1785, 
 De Rozoi in his Shapsodie de Bichard III., 1782. 
 
THE TRANSLATOR OP SHAKESPEARE 245 
 
 general feeling towards the end of the century 
 of the more enlightened partizans of Shakespeare 
 is well expressed by Freron in the Annee LittS- 
 raire. 
 
 "Les ouvrages inspires par le genie, quel- 
 ques defauts qui les defigurent, ont toujours 
 un grand avantage sur les productions froides 
 et polies de I'esprit. lis ofErent des idees 
 neuves et originales, des choses hardies et 
 sublimes; on y rencontre partout les traits 
 d'une imagination libre et vigoureuse qui cree, 
 qui invente, et s'elance au dela des bornes 
 prescrites. Des beautes de ce genre rachetent 
 bien des absurdites, et sont beaucoup plus utiles 
 au progres de I'art que les ecrits mediocres, qui 
 n'ont d'autre merite qu'une forme reguliere, un 
 tour elegant et delicieux. Une seule scene de 
 Shakespeare eclaire plus un artiste que cette 
 foule de tragedies ou toutes les regies sont 
 observees scrupuleusement hors la plus essen- 
 tielle, qui est d'interesser et de plaire. Je 
 ne pretends pas justifier les irregularites mon- 
 strueuses du poete Anglois ; mais ses pieces 
 quelque bizarres qu'elles soient, presentent aux 
 ecrivains qui ont plus de gout que d'invention, 
 un repertoire immense de caracteres et de situa- 
 
246 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 tions vraiment tragiques. Ces materiaux pre- 
 cieux mis en ceuvre par une main habile pour- 
 roient enrichir notre theatre, dans un temps sur- 
 tout ou nos auteurs dramatiques se plaignent 
 qu'ils sont venus trop tard, et que tous les su- 
 jets sont epuises. La traduction de Shakespeare 
 envisagee sous ce point de vue, a done un 
 objet d'utilite tres considerable, et pent etre 
 regardee comme une ressource contre la sterilite 
 et la disette qui affligent depuis longtemps la 
 scene Frangoise " (^AnnSe LittSraire, 1778, Vol. 
 VII. p. 73.) Even Mme. de Stael, so enthusias- 
 tic about northern poetry, found Shakespeare 
 often lacking in taste, though she recognized 
 and boldly declared his power and beauty as a 
 dramatist. " Depuis les Grecs jusqu'a lui, nous 
 voyons toutes les litteratures d^river les unes 
 des autres, en partant de la meme source. 
 Shakespeare commence une litterature nouvelle ; 
 il est empreint sans doute, de I'esprit et de la 
 couleur generale des poesies du Nord, mais c'est 
 lui qui a donne k la litterature des Anglais 
 son impulsion, et a leur art dramatique son 
 caractere." ^ In her intelligent and sympa- 
 thetic study of Shakespeare, she counseled 
 
 1 Be la Litterature, 1800, Chap. III. 
 
THE TRANSLATOR OP SHAKESPEARE 247 
 
 reform in the French drama, and the imitation 
 of his freedom from restraint of rules and 
 fidelity to life. Yet, far from exalting him 
 to the skies with the unreasoning adoration of 
 some of his early admirers, she proposed a 
 reasonable medium between both systems of 
 composition.^ 
 
 Thus, at the beginning of the nineteenth 
 century, even the most enlightened opinion 
 concerning Shakespeare was not essentially 
 very different from that expressed by Voltaire 
 half a century before. Shakespeare has no 
 taste ; he has no regard for the unities ; he 
 mingles the comic and the tragic in the same 
 drama ; he introduces scenes of violence and 
 characters of the lower classes, he makes each 
 character speak as befits him, and not according 
 to the dignity and nobility suited to tragedy. 
 But with all these defects he is a great genius 
 of unquestioned power and inimitable beauties. 
 His faults are those of his time. He lived in a 
 
 1 De la Litterature, Chap. XIII. Des Tragedies de Shake- 
 speare, 3d edition, 1818, Vol. I. p. 522. 
 
 " Enfin, pour ouvrir une nouvelle source d'^motions th^- 
 atrales, il faudrait trouver le genre intermMiaire entre la 
 nature de convention des pontes frangais et les dfifauts de 
 gotlt des fieri vains du Nord." 
 
248 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 rough and barbarous age, and wrote to please 
 an uncultivated people. Chateaubriand, one of 
 the last ardent supporters of the classic ideal, 
 compared him to a Gothic cathedral, which may 
 please by the very deformity of its proportions, 
 but which no one would think of imitating as a 
 model of architecture.^ 
 
 From 1800 to 1820 the question of the re- 
 spective merits of the two dramatic systems was 
 still discussed by Geoffroy, ^ Lemercier, ^ Mme. 
 de Stael and Ch. de Eemusat.* In 1821 
 Guizot's new and revised edition of Le Tour- 
 neur's translation and his remarkable preface ^ 
 showed that a revolution was at hand. Critics 
 and imitators of Shakespeare followed thick 
 and fast ; and such works as Stendhal's de- 
 
 1 JEssai sur Shakespeare, 1801, in (Euvres completes 1836, 
 Vol. VIII. p. 56. Melanges littSraires : " un monument goth- 
 ique peut plaire par son obscurity et par la difformitg mgme 
 de ses proportions mais personne ne songe ^ b§.tir un palais 
 sur son modfele." 
 
 2 Journal des Debats, Oours de litterature dramatique, 
 Paris, 1819. 
 
 8 Dramas and Prefaces, Cours analytique de litterature 
 ginSrale. Cours de litterature dramatique. 
 
 * Bevolution du The&tre, 1820 ; reprinted in Pass& et Pre- 
 sent, Melanges, Paris, 1847. 
 
 ' Shakespeare, (Euvres, traduites par Le Toumeur, revues 
 par Guizot, Paris, 1821, 13 vols. 
 
THE TRANSLATOR OF SHAKESPEARE 249 
 
 tailed study of Racine and Shakespeare,^ trans- 
 lations of separate plays, and the utterances of 
 such men as Alfred de Vigny, Victor Hugo, 
 Sainte Beuve, and Lamartine prepared the way 
 for the revolutionary theories of dramatic art in 
 the preface to Cromwell in 1827. The great 
 change in taste, so long and slow in coming, had 
 at last arrived. Hernani (1830), and Marion 
 Delorme (1831), were played and welcomed. 
 The pendulum of public opinion in favor of 
 Shakespeare swung completely round, and under 
 the influence of the Romantic Movement, he 
 became the " god of the theater." 
 
 In 1829 Alfred de Vigny's translation of 
 Othello was performed at the Theatre Frangais, 
 and in the same year Emile Deschamp's Etudes 
 Poetiques Franpaises et JEtrangeres supported 
 and developed the ideas and theories promul- 
 gated by Vigny and Hugo. Imitations, trans- 
 lations, and critical studies multiplied rapidly. 
 Chateaubriand, somewhat converted from his 
 earlier opinion, devoted a long article to Shake- 
 speare in his essay on English literature in 1836.^ 
 
 1 Bacine et Shakespeare, par Stendhal, Paris, 1823. 
 
 2 Chateaubriand, (Euvres completes, Paris, 1837, Vols. 
 XXXIII and XXXIV. 
 
250 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 George Sand translated As You Like It and made 
 a study of Hamlet; ^ Stapfer investigated Shake- 
 speare's relation to the Ancients;^ Mezieres' 
 and Lamartine* devoted entire volumes to his 
 life and works ; Lacroix, Jusserand, and Louns- 
 bury studied his appreciation and influence in 
 France. Meantime modern and complete trans- 
 lations have not been wanting. Revised edi- 
 tions of Le Tourneur's rendering appeared in 
 1821, 1822, and 1834. A new and complete 
 version by Francisque Michel® was published in 
 1839, and another by Benjamin Laroche^ in 
 1844. Frangois Victor Hugo' produced a third 
 in 1859, and the latest, that of !^mile Mon- 
 tegut,8 is of 1867.9 
 
 1 George Sand, Oomme il vous plaira, 1856. 
 
 2 Stapfer, Paul, Shakespeare et V Antiquite, Paris, 1879- 
 1880. 
 
 3 M&iferes, Alf, Shakespeare, sa Vie et ses CEuvres, 
 Paris, 1860. 
 
 ^ Lamartine, Shakespeare et soji (Euvre, Paris, 1865. 
 
 ^ Shakespeare, CEuvres, traduites par M. Mioliel, Paris, 
 1839. 
 
 " Shakespeare, CEuvres completes, traduites par Benjamin 
 Laroohe, Paris, 1844. 
 
 ' Shakespeare, CEuvres completes, traduites par F. "V. 
 Hugo, Pari.s, 1859. 
 
 * Shakespeare, CEuvres completes, traduites par ^femile 
 Montfegut, Paris, 1867. 
 
 » As this essay was going to press the attention of the 
 
THE TEANSLATOE OF SHAKESPEARE 251 
 
 The war was practically over by 1840. 
 Shakespeare had at last found a home in France 
 and has now his place on the French stage. ^ 
 He is no longer considered a rough and uncouth 
 barbarian, but is welcomed as an honored and 
 respected guest. Nevertheless, he is, and must 
 continue to be, a stranger, alien in blood, opposed 
 in feeling and expression to the tradition of the 
 Latin races. There is now no discussion as to 
 his merit or his taste ; his dramatic methods are 
 no longer questioned ; his effect upon the French 
 drama is undoubted. In helping to free it from 
 
 ■writer was called to the announcement of a new translation 
 of Shakespeare : CEuvres dramatiques de William Shake- 
 speare: traduction nouvelle, entierement conforme au texte 
 anglais, avec annotations, par Georges Duval, 8 vols., Paris, 
 1908. 
 
 1 Among the more modern adaptations of Shakespeare for 
 the stage may be noted : Hamlet by Paul Meurice and Alex- 
 andre Dumas (1847), in which Mounet Sully achieved one 
 of his great triumphs at the Theatre Fran^aise ; Macbeth and 
 Le roi Lear, by Jules Laoroix, performed at the Theatre de 
 L'Od^on in 1863 and 1888; Othello, by Jean Aicard (1881), 
 Le Conte d'Avril (founded on Twelfth Night), by Auguste 
 Dorchain (1885) ; Macbeth, by Jean Richepin, Porte-Saint 
 Martin (1884) ; Shylock, by Edmond Haraucourt (1890), 
 and La Megere apprivoisee by Paul Delain (1894). Sarah 
 Bernhardt's impersonation of Hamlet is still a recent mem- 
 ory, and the summer of 1907 witnessed repeated perform- 
 ances before crowded houses at the ThgStre de I'Od^on, of 
 a version of King Lear by Pierre Loti. 
 
252 PIEERE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 the fetters of classicism, in giving it new life, 
 and in enlarging its boundaries, his influence 
 was a factor of importance in the history of the 
 development of dramatic taste and art. For the 
 acceleration of this change, Le Tourneur, by- 
 giving to France the first complete translation 
 of Shakespeare, by his keen insight and apprecia- 
 tion, and by his thorough and conscientious 
 work, must be held in no small degree respon- 
 sible. 
 
VI. CONCLUSION 
 
 T^HB way of the translator, like that of the 
 transgressor, is apt to be hard. His is an obscure 
 and thankless task. His work rarely satisfies 
 either the friends of his author or the critics of his 
 own nation. His translation may be used and 
 widely known and it is proportionately abused. 
 If he himself is remembered at all, it is generally 
 for his vices, not his virtues. His preparation is 
 arduous, his labor difficult, his glory and recog- 
 nition small. He must understand his author, 
 know him thoroughly, sympathize with him. 
 Like an actor, he must sink his own personality 
 as far as possible and represent him conscien- 
 tiously, appropriately, and adequately, in spirit 
 and in speech. In the beginning he is beset by 
 serious difficulties. If he translates literally and 
 word for word, he renders the sense and loses 
 the spirit of his original ; if freely, he is accused 
 of inaccuracy or ignorance . Whatever his method, 
 however great his care, he finds the standard of 
 perfection retreating before him as he advances, 
 253 
 
254 PIERRE LE TODRNEUR 
 
 and himself assailed by the critic alike for what 
 he did and for what he did not do. His work 
 may be poor or excellent, it may or may not ac- 
 complish its end; in either case, the translator 
 himself generally sinks into obscurity ; his per- 
 sonality, his years of effort and labor are for- 
 gotten. 
 
 This fate has overtaken Pierre Le Tourneur. 
 To most, he is but a name, — the translator of 
 Young, Ossian, and Shakespeare. He and his 
 works are alike buried in the darkness of oblivion 
 which is penetrated only by the inquiring stu- 
 dent and scholar. Even when these curious 
 and hardy adventurers into the mysterious 
 land of dead and forgotten writers have roused 
 him from his long slumber, it has been, generally, 
 to greet him with unsparing criticism on his 
 work, tempered with condescending indulgence 
 for himself. His work, as a whole, has been 
 characterized as "bad," "poor," "mediocre." 
 He has been accused of timidity and lack of 
 initiative, of carelessness and infidelity in his 
 translations, of bombast and grandiloquence in 
 his style, of ignorance of the English tongue. 
 But he deserves more indulgent treatment at the 
 hands of posterity and merits a better fate than 
 
CONCLUSION 255 
 
 that which has befallen him. The qualities of 
 his life and work which make him worthy of 
 being rescued from oblivion have already been 
 suggested in the foregoing pages. It will be 
 sufficient here to summarize them very briefly. 
 
 Le Tourneur's importance and interest in the 
 history of literature lie in three things : in his 
 work, in his ideas, and in his personality. His 
 work, as has been seen, consists of original essays 
 and of translations. The former, while graceful 
 and promising attempts, are too slight to have 
 any great influence upon his final reputation. 
 Nevertheless, they won him a place in public 
 esteem and thus prepared the way for a favorable 
 reception of his later work. He is known to-day, 
 and rightly, as a translator. By his translations 
 of Young, Hervey, and Ossian he introduced to 
 France the English School of the literature of 
 melancholy which did much to accelerate and 
 increase the influence of the Romantic Move- 
 ment. His rendering of Shakespeare made 
 known for the first time the English poet to the 
 French people, established for him a firm foot- 
 hold in France, and powerfully affected the future 
 development of the French drama. His minor 
 translations furthered still more the cause of 
 
256 PIERRE LE TOURNEUE 
 
 literary cosmopolitanism by extending the knowl- 
 edge of foreign literature, and stimulating in- 
 terest in the productions of other nations. 
 
 Like many another workman for posterity, Le 
 Tourneur builded better than he knew. He was 
 not only a translator, but, what was perhaps more 
 important at the time, an interpreter of literature. 
 He possessed, in a rare degree, the power of ap- 
 preciation ; he had a breadth of view, a tolerance, 
 a clear and keen judgment, far in advance of 
 most other critics of his age. These very gifts 
 enabled him to understand his public and the 
 temper of the time in which he lived. He 
 realized clearly what he could and what he could 
 not venture in the way of literary initiative. He 
 had, moreover, the editor's instinct of selection 
 and arrangement, and the insight and the skill 
 to present a literature entirely opposed in 
 thought, in taste, and in expression to his own, 
 in such a way that it was acceptable and pleas- 
 ing to his countrymen. His translations are of 
 value, not because of their intrinsic merit, but 
 because of what they represent: the first be- 
 ginnings of a phase of cosmopolitanism which 
 was later to become a mighty influence in Euro- 
 pean literature. Like beauty, their existence is 
 
CONCLUSION 257 
 
 their own excuse for being. Viewed from the 
 standpoint of the modern scholar, they are very- 
 unsatisfactory as translations, and most of the 
 criticisms passed upon them are just. They are 
 sometimes poor, often inaccurate, they have 
 many sins of omission and commission in the 
 way of liberties taken with the text, and yet, 
 they do catch and reflect the essential spirit and 
 atmosphere of their originals. A large part of 
 their worth lies in their very imperfections. 
 They did their work, they fulfilled their purpose. 
 They made known to the French people the 
 English authors they tried to represent. It is, 
 indeed, a question whether an accurate and com- 
 plete rendering would have brought about the 
 same results ; whether, if presented, then, in 
 their entirety, Young, Ossian, and Shakespeare 
 would have been welcomed, or even received, in 
 France; whether, in short, the change in taste 
 would have taken place when and as it did, and 
 finally, whether the development of literary 
 cosmopolitanism would not have been percepti- 
 bly retarded. 
 
 Le Tourneur, however, was more than a trans- 
 lator and interpreter. By the novelty and bold- 
 ness of his ideas, he belongs to the ranks of 
 
258 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 theorists and innovators. The fact of his un- 
 dertaking and completing entire translations 
 of these alien poets shows an appreciation and 
 judgment beyond that of most of his contem- 
 poraries. It is true that in so doing he was 
 merely following the fashion of the hour, the rage 
 for everything English which had taken posses- 
 sion of France. But where most people were 
 content with little or no accurate knowledge, he 
 made an attempt at something like a scholarly 
 and complete treatment of his subject. Unlike 
 the greater part of his countrymen he under- 
 stood his authors, and appreciated the value of 
 his own work in introducing them to his coun- 
 try. In his prefaces, above all, he gave expres- 
 sion to his new theories and startling ideas. He 
 revealed to France, in the first place, a sane 
 and sensible view of literature, and suggested a 
 liberal tolerance with respect to standards of 
 taste and excellence different from those of 
 generally accepted tradition. He spoke against 
 a slavish adherence to the unities, and a blind 
 and hampering obedience to rules. He pro- 
 claimed the independence and the power of 
 genius, the vitality and naturalness of the Eng- 
 lish stage, the good effects of mingling the 
 
CONCLUSION 259 
 
 comic and the tragic, of taking subjects from 
 all classes of men, of making each character 
 speak a language appropriate to himself. He 
 protested against the tyranny of criticism and 
 tradition, against the pettiness and narrowness 
 of critics who try to measure everything by 
 their own small capacity and rule. He pleaded 
 for breadth of view in literature, declaring 
 boldly that France was not the only nation 
 endowed with genius, and that perfection was 
 not confined within her boundaries. He urged 
 the development of cosmopolitanism, the utility 
 of exchange in literature as well as in commerce. 
 He was the first to use and to define the word 
 romantique, which has since become an ordinary 
 term in literary speech. These ideas and 
 theories, regarded by his contemporaries as 
 startling and chimerical innovations destined to 
 work havoc in the perfection of classic drama, 
 and to bring ruin and destruction upon the 
 stage, have since been accepted without ques- 
 tion as commonplaces of literary criticism and 
 structure. But such a change as made this 
 acceptance possible did not take place without 
 a struggle, and Le Tourneur, as one of the 
 pioneers in the campaign, bore the brunt of 
 
260 PIERRE LE TOURNEUR 
 
 the battle and was responsible for mucli of the 
 progress made. 
 
 His share and influence in the great evolu- 
 tion and expansion of taste which was going on 
 at the close of the eighteenth century was due, 
 in part, to his personal qualities and attributes. 
 Throughout his life he was known to be of 
 blameless character and spotless reputation. 
 He had many friends and few enemies. He 
 was recognized as an original writer of marked 
 ability, as a critic of sound judgment, keen in- 
 sight, just appreciation, and unquestioned good 
 taste. His opinions were listened to with re- 
 spect, and his work received with approbation. 
 He was known to be thorough and conscien- 
 tious, free from envy, malice, and ambition, seek- 
 ing only as his reward the consciousness of work 
 well done. Under the fire of abuse and perse- 
 cution which the novelty of his work and the 
 hardihood of his ideas brought upon him, he 
 stood firm and resolute, completing his task 
 with quiet dignity, calm persistence, and una- 
 bated energy, and trusting, with unshaken faith, 
 to the value of his work as his only vindication 
 and his sole revenge. His insight was not mis- 
 taken nor his confidence misplaced. His work 
 
CONCLUSION 261 
 
 stood the test and his efPorts were justified by 
 the results. He did his work thoroughly and 
 well, and left behind him translations which 
 became the standard, ideas and theories destined 
 to aid in the revolution of taste and dramatic 
 structure, and the memory of a gracious and 
 pleasing personality. Of Pierre Le Tourneur, 
 who introduced Young, Ossian, and Shakespeare 
 into France, whose work accelerated materially 
 the slow but inevitable march of the Romantic 
 Movement, whose keen judgment and just ap- 
 preciation did much for the spread of cosmopoli- 
 tanism and literary civilization, whose personal 
 charm impressed all who knew him, it may be 
 said with Antony of Brutus : 
 
 " His life was gentle ; and the elements 
 So mixed in him, that Nature might stand up, 
 And say to all the world, I'his was a man I " 
 
APPENDIX A 
 
 CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF LE TOURNEUK'S 
 WORKS 
 
 1766. :^loge de Clairaut. 
 
 in Necrologie des hommes c^lebres de France, 
 Paris, 1766. 
 
 1768. Discours Moraux oouronnds par les Academies de 
 
 Montauban at de Besan9on en 1766 et 1767 avec 
 un Eloge de Charles V., Roi de France, par 
 M"^. Sens et Paris. 176 pp. 
 
 1769. La Jeune Fille Seduite et Le Courtisan Ermite, 
 
 contes traduits de I'Anglois par M. Le Tour- 
 nenr. 50 pp. 
 
 1769. Les nuits d' Young, traduites de I'anglois par Le 
 
 Tourneur. Paris. 2 vols, in 8vo. et in 12mo. 
 
 1770. CEuvres diverses d'Young, traduites de I'anglois 
 
 par Le Tourneur. Paris. 2 vols, in 8vo. 
 
 1770. Meditations d'Hervey, traduites de I'anglois par 
 
 Le Tourneur. Paris. 8vo. 
 
 1771. Histoire de Richard Savage, suivie de la Vie de 
 
 Thomson, traduites de I'anglois, par M. Le 
 Tourneur. 400 pp. 12mo. 
 
 1771. Histoire du regne de I'empereur Charles Quint, 
 precedee d'un tableau des progres de la Society 
 en Europe, traduite de I'anglois. 6 vols, in 
 12mo. (Vols. Ill et IV are by Le Tourneur.) 
 
 1771. Choix de Contes et de Poesies erses, traduits par 
 Pierre Le Tourneur. Paris. 2 vols, in 12mo. 
 263 
 
264 APPENDIX A 
 
 1776-83. Shakespeare, traduit de I'anglois, dedi^ an 
 Roi. 20 vols, in 8vo. 
 
 1777. Ossian, flls de Fingal poesies galliques, traduites 
 
 sur I'anglois de Macpherson par Le Tourneur. 
 Paris. 2 vols, in Svo. 
 
 1778. feloge du Mar^chal du Muy par Le Tourneur. 
 
 Paris. 178 pp. 
 
 1779. Vue de I'^vidence de la Religion Chr^tienne, con- 
 
 sider^e en elle-mSme, traduite de I'anglois par 
 M. Le Tourneur. 
 1784. Le Sylphe, traduit de I'anglois. Geneve et Paris. 
 1 vol. in 8vo. 
 
 1784. Histoire d' Angleterre, representee par Figures, ac- 
 
 compagndes d'un Precis Historique. Les Fig- 
 ures gravies par David. Paris. 2 vols, in 4to. 
 
 1785. Choix d'illegies de I'Arioste, traduites de I'ltalien 
 
 par M. Le Tourneur. Paris. 
 1785-86. Clarisse Harlowe, traduction nouvelle et seule 
 
 complfete par M. Le Tourneur. Geneve et 
 
 Paris. 10 vols, in Svo. 
 1787. Voyage au Cap de Bonne Esp^rance et autour du 
 
 Monde avec le Capitaine Cook, par Andrd 
 
 Sparrman. Traduction par M. Le Tourneur. 
 
 3 vols, in 8vo. 
 
 1787. Voyage en Allemagne dans une suite de Lettres, 
 
 par M. le Baron de Riesbeck, traduites de I'ang- 
 lois. 3 vols, in Svo. 
 
 1788. M^moires int^ressans, par Une Lady, traduits de 
 
 I'anglois par feu M. Le Tourneur. Londres et 
 Paris. 1 vol. in Svo. 
 1788. Vie de Frederic, Baron de Trenck, traduite de 
 I'Allemand par M- Le Tourneur. Berlin and 
 Paris. 1788. 3 vols, in Svo. 
 
APPENDIX A 265 
 
 1778. Voyage h. Ermenonville. 
 
 in CEuvres Completes de Rousseau. Paris. 1788. 
 Vol. I. 
 
 1788. Le Jardin Anglois, ou Varietes taut originales que 
 
 traduites par feu M. Le Tourneur. 2 vols, in 8vo. 
 1779-1789. Histoire Universelle depuis le commence- 
 ment du monde jusqu'k prdsent, par une Society 
 de Gens de Lettres. 120 vols. 
 
 1789. Le Nord du Globe, traduit de I'anglois de M. 
 
 Pennant. 2 vols, in Svo. 
 
 Note. — L'Histoire de Mile, de Sirval, ou le Triomphe du Sen- 
 timent, is wrongly attributed by Ersch to Le Tourneur. 
 It is by M. Tournon (1760-1794), de I'Academie d' Arras. 
 
APPENDIX B 
 
 HERVEY AND MONTAIGNE 
 
 "Legions, Legions of Disasters such as no Prudence 
 can foresee, and no Care prevent, lie in wait to accom- 
 plish our Doom. A starting Horse may throw his Rider ; 
 may at once dash his Body against the Stones, and fling 
 his soul into the invisible World. A Stack of Chimnies 
 may tumble into the Street and crush the unwary Pas- 
 senger under the ruins. Even a single Tile, dropping 
 from the Roof, may be as fatal as the Fall of the whole 
 Structure. So fraU, so very attenuated is the Thread of 
 Life, that it not only bursts before the storm, but breaks 
 even at a Breeze. The most common Occurrences, those 
 from which we suspect not the least Harm, may prove 
 the Weapon of our Destruction. A Grapestone, a des- 
 picable Fly, may be more mortal than Goliath, with all 
 his formidable Armour. Nay, if God give command, 
 our very Comforts become killing. The air we breathe 
 is our Bane, and the Food we eat, the Vehicle of Death. 
 That last Enemy has unnumbered Avenues for his Ap- 
 proach, Yea, lies intrenched in our very Bosom, and 
 holds his Fortress in the Seat of our Life. The crimson 
 Fluid, which distributes Health, is impregnated with the 
 Seeds of Death, Heat may inflame it, or Toil oppress it, 
 and make it destroy the Parts it was designed to cherish. 
 Some unseen Impediment may obstruct its Passage, or 
 some unknown Violence may divert its Course, in either 
 266 
 
APPENDIX B 267 
 
 of which Cases, it acts the Part of a poisonous Draught, 
 or adeadly Stab." — Hkrvky, Meditations among the Tombs, 
 London, 1759, Vol. I. p. 29. 
 
 This passage was obviously suggested by Montaigne's 
 chapter " Que philosopher, c'est apprendre ii mourir.'' — 
 Bk. I. Chap. XIX. 
 
 " Combien a la mort de f a9on de surprinse I h touts 
 instants representons la h notre imagination, et en touts 
 visages, au broncher d'un cheval, k la chute d'une 
 taille, k la moindre piqure d'epingle ''..." I'aultre 
 mourut d'un grain de raisin." 
 
 " L'eau, la terra, I'air et le feu et aultres membres de 
 ce mien bastiment ne sont non plus instrumens de la 
 vie qu'instrumens de la mort." 
 
 Le Tourneur renders : 
 
 " Ah I quelle foule de dangers et d'^oueils impr^vus, 
 inevitables, assiegent notre fi'ele existence I Un coursier 
 fougueux renverse son cavalier, et I'dcrase sur la pierre. 
 Un edifice s'ecroule, et ensevelit les passans sous ses 
 mines, nne ardoise fatale se detache du toit, tombe et 
 nous tue ; L'atome le plus Idger peut detruire la constitu- 
 tion la plus robuste. Que dis-je ? la mort est dans Pair 
 que nous respirons, dans I'aliment qui nous nourrit, dans 
 le sang qui nous anime. Le repos nous est mortal corame 
 le travail, nous perissons d'abondance corame de besoin, 
 partout la mort s'insinue et circule dans les sources 
 memes de la vie." p. 103. 
 
APPENDIX C 
 
 LE COMTE DE CATUELAN 
 
 " Le comte de Catudlan, trfes verse dans la langue an- 
 glaise avait fait une excellente traduction du theatre de 
 Shakespeare qu'il voulait faire imprimer. EUe fut mise 
 k la censure de M. Letourneur. Celui-ci s'occupait prg- 
 cisement k cette epoque de traduire ce m§me ouvrage, 
 dont il comptait tirer le plus grand profit, et fut fort 
 €tonn6 d'avoir ete prdvenu aussi cruellement. II tralnait 
 en longueur la lecture du manuscrit, diilerait son appro- 
 bation sous divers pretextes, lorsque M. de Catudlan, 
 apprenant le veritable motif de ces lenteurs, alia le voir, 
 et lui dit fort honnStement que ne voulant point se 
 trouver en concurrence avec un litterateur aussi ^clair^, 
 encore moins lui enlever les avantages qu'il devait natu- 
 rellement retirer de son travail, et auxquels lui-m§me 
 n'aspirait pas, il venait reprendre son manuscrit, ou le lui 
 c^der sons la modique retribution de quelques exemplaires. 
 M. Letourneur, accepta avec beaucoup de reconnaissance 
 cette seconde proposition : il d^natura en quelques en- 
 droits le style du traducteur, ajouta quelques notes, et mit 
 son nom h. la tete de I'ouvrage ^ dont il retira toute la 
 gloire et le profit. . . . Sic vos non vobis.'' 
 
 1 This is an error. The letter of dedication to The King 
 in Vol. I. is signed by le comte de Catu^lan, Le Tourneur, 
 and Fontaine Malherbe. 
 
 268 
 
APPENDIX C 269 
 
 Dugast de Bois-Saint Just: Paris, Versailles et les 
 Provinces au 18« si'ecle, Paris, 1811, 3d edition. 
 3 vols. Vol. 2, p. 180. 
 
 "MM. le Comte de C . . . et Le T. se disposent h, 
 mettre inoessamment sous presse, k. Paris, une traduction 
 fidelle du theatre complet de Shakespeare; ils out fait 
 leurs efforts pour ex^cuter de leur mieux, une entreprise 
 aussi difficile, et qu'ils cvoient digne d'int^resser le pub- 
 lic. La traduction est achev^e ; mais ils ne plaindront 
 ni le tems, ni les soins pour approcher, le plus qu'il leur 
 seroit possible, de I'exactitude et de la perfection ; et leur 
 but principal est de montrer k leur nation Shakespeare 
 tel que le voyent les Anglois.'' — Journal Encyclopedique, 
 August, 1772, Vol. V. p. 427. 
 
APPENDIX D 
 
 EXAMPLES OF EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY CRITI- 
 CISM OF LE TOURNEUR'S TRANSLATION 
 OF SHAKESPEARE 
 
 1. " Voici un endroit oil Ton remarque de la noblesse, 
 de la v^rite et de la passion; c'est au moment oh Ton 
 vient pour arreter Othello aprfes le meurtre de Desdemona. 
 On a ferm^ les portes sur lui, il veut sortir, I'epde h la 
 main. Gratiano lui repond qu'on s'y opposera, et parolt 
 & la porta. Voici ce que lui dit Othello : 
 
 Lo I I have a ■weapon. 
 A better never did itself sustain 
 Upon a soldier's thigh. I've seen the day 
 That with this little arm and this good sword 
 I've made my way through more impedinnents 
 Than twenty times your stop. But oh ! vain boast ! 
 Who can control his fate ? 'Tis not so now. 
 Be not afraid though you do see me weaponed. 
 Here is my iourney's end, here is my butt. 
 The very seamark of my utmost sail. 
 Do you go back dismay'd? 'Tis a lost fear : 
 Man but a rush against OtheUo's breast 
 And he retires. Where should Othello go? 
 Now, how dost thou look now? O ill-starr'd wench! 
 Pale as thy smocks ! when we shall meet at compt. 
 This look of thine will hurl my soul from heaven, 
 270 
 
APPENDIX D 271 
 
 And fiends will snatch at it. Cold, cold, my girl, 
 
 Even like thy chastity. O cursed slave I 
 
 Whip me, ye devils. 
 
 From the possession of this heavenly sight. 
 
 Blow me about in winds, roast me in sulphur, 
 
 Wash me in steep-down gulphs of liquid fire, 
 
 Oh I Desdemona I Desdemona ! dead 1 dead I Oh I Oh I 
 
 " Ce morceau est beau. Les traducteurs I'ont tres fldele- 
 ment rendu, mais n'auroient-ils pas pu accorder un peu 
 mieux I'exactitude de la version, avec la correction du 
 langage et avec la simplicity elegante qui n'auroit rien 
 d^robe des beautds de Shakespeare? Voici comme ils 
 ont traduit : 
 
 '"Vols, j'ai une ^pee, jamais arme plus sure ne reposa 
 sur la cuisse d'un soldat. J'ai vu le terns oil avec ce foible 
 bras et cette bonne epee, je me serois fait jour k travers des 
 obstacles vingt fois plus puissans que ceux que tu m'of- 
 fres. Mais 5 vainebravadel qui pent surmonter sa des- 
 tinee? II n'en est plus de mgme. Ne t'effraye point de 
 me voir une arme k la main ; je suis au terme : voici la 
 borne de ma carriere, I'^oueil oil finit ma derniere course. 
 Tu recules de peur I Va, iu perds tes allarmes. Qu'un 
 bras seulement menace le sein d'Othello, et il va fuir. 
 Ou iroit Othello? Maintenant, dans quel etat t'offres-tu 
 k moi, malheureuse enfant nee sous une etoile fatale? 
 pale comme tes linceulsl Quand nous nous rencontre- 
 rons au jour du jugement, cei aspect pre'cipitera mon dme 
 des cieux, et soudain les demons se saisiront d'elle. — 
 Froide, froide I 6 douce vietime ! calme comme ton inno- 
 cence ! Scelerat maudit ! Prenez vos fouets, furies, frap- 
 pez, depossedez-moi de cet objet celeste. Lancez-moi 
 dans les tourbillons glacis, plongez-moi dans des torrens 
 
272 APPENDIX D 
 
 de soufre, au fond de vos brasiers devorans. O Desd^- 
 mone ! Desd^mone I morte, morte I Oh ! oh I ' 
 
 " Ceux qui ont quelque connoissance de I'Anglois 
 s'apercevront aisdment, que sans nuire en rien k la 
 fidelity on pourroit donner k cette traduction le ton noble 
 et soutenu que comportoit I'original en cet endroit. II 
 ne f aut point, sans doute, orner Shakespeare, puisqu'on 
 veut le faire connoltre : mais il ne faut point le gater. 
 Qu'est-ce que cette expression grotesque d'une arme qui 
 repose sur la cuisse d'un soldat ? II est vrai que le mot 
 thigh est dans le texte, mais les Traducteurs sayent si 
 bien nous dire que beaucoup de mots qui sont bas dans 
 notre langue ne le sont pas dans celle des Anglois. lis 
 I'ont tant dit k M. de Voltaire, qui, pourtant, n'avoit 
 traduit d'une manifere basse que ce qui 6toit bas partout. 
 Ici ce n'^toit pas la m§me chose. C'est une delicatesse 
 particuliere k notre langue, que de ne pas admettre dans 
 le style noble des mots qui expriment certaines parties du 
 corps que les anciens et les modernes ne craignoient pas 
 de noramer dans un Poeme, et Shakespeare s'est servi du 
 mot thigh, comme Virgile du mot crus. Mais le sens 
 n'auroit-il pas et6 tout aussi bien rendu sans ce mot de 
 cuisse, qui pour des oreiUes Fran9oises, gateroit la plus 
 belle phrase? En eut-il coflte beaucoup de substituer 
 ceci : Jamais arme plus sure ne fut dans la main d'un 
 soldat f Ailleurs, c'est la langue qui est offeusee. Perdre 
 ses alarmes ! ce langage est-il tolerable? II y a dans 
 I'original, 'tis a lost fear: mot k mot: lacrainteest perdue. 
 Mais ce mot lost, perdue, est ici le synonyme de superflue. 
 Rien n'etoit si simple que de traduire: tes aUarmes sont 
 vaines : et ce qu'il y a de pis, c'est, qu'au lieu du mot 
 propre qui se pr^sente de lui-meme, les Traducteurs ont et6 
 chercher bien loin des barbarismes strangers, et se sont 
 
APPENDIX D 273 
 
 donn^ beaucoup de peine pour faire mal. C'est una 
 remarque qui s'ofEre k tout moment h, I'esprit en lisant 
 leur Shakespeare. 
 
 " Qu'un bras seulement menace le sein d'Othello : Pour- 
 quoi cette tournure bizarre, un bras f II y a dans I'An- 
 glois man, un Tiomme, qui vaut beaucoup mieux : qu'un 
 homme leve le bras contre Othello, et Othello va fuir.^ 
 Voila la phrase de I'Auteur Anglois. Que dirons-nous 
 de cet aspect qui pre'cipitera mon ame et des furies qui 
 prennent leurs fouets pour depossederf Tout cela est 
 dans I'Anglois, il est vrai, mais c'est ici le cas oii la lettre 
 tue; et des expressions plus justes et plus fran9oises 
 n'auroient pas ete moins exactes. 
 
 " Voilh bien des f antes dans un seul morceau, et c'est un 
 des meilleurs de Shakespeare : qu'on juge si le reste est 
 mieux travaille. M. M. Le Tourneur et Compagnie 
 auroient du louer moins leur Auteur et le traduire mieux." 
 — Journal de Politique et Litterature, Mai, 1778. 
 
 It is interesting to note that eighty years later, Fran- 
 9ois Victor Hugo, in his translation of Othello, retained 
 the objectionable cuisse and boldly rendered " ton appari- 
 tion jore'cipiVera mon ame du del." — Vol. V. p. 380, Othello, 
 Scene 16. 
 
 " C'est en rendant avec soin ces beautds r€elles qui 
 font le mdrite de Shakespeare, que les Traducteurs 
 auroient beaucoup mieux travaille pour sa gloire, 
 qu'en exaltant ses d^fauts. lis out annonce hautement 
 que pour la premiere fois on verroit Shakespeare, tel 
 
 1 This is a case of the blind leading the blind. Man in 
 the English text means, of course, not a man, but is the 
 verb, to arm against, to threaten with. 
 
 T 
 
274 APPENDIX D 
 
 qu'il ^toit ; ils se sont vant^s de la fid^litd la plus scrupu- 
 leuse. II est pourtant vrai, que souvent ils out masque 
 ^galement, et ses beautds et ses defauts. ... II s'en 
 faut de beaucoup que les traducteurs ayent dt^ aussi 
 fidfeles qu'ils se piquent de I'Stre : Mais qu'importe que 
 de mauvaises choses soient mal traduites ? . . . II y a 
 plus ; c'est, que par un contraste assez maladroit, ils ont 
 cru souvent rendre la naivete et I'dnergie de I'Auteur, 
 par des tournures triviales ou baroques; et quand i». 
 falloit nous montrer sa grossieret^ telle qu'elle dtoit, ils 
 se sont permis plus d'une fois de I'annoblir, et de le 
 farder mal k propos. Je n'en veux qu'un exemple tird 
 de la Scene onzieme du second Aote d'Ofchello. Cette 
 Scene se passe dans le Corps de Garde : on boit, on 
 chante, et les chansons doivent etre dignes du lieu. 
 C'est Shakespeare tout pur; il n'y avoit nulle raison 
 pour I'oi-ner. Voici le couplet que les Traducteurs 
 mettent dans la bouche d'lago : 
 " Dans la bassesse ou tu respires, 
 
 N'affecte point I'orgueil d'un vetement nouveau. 
 
 L'orgueil renverse les empires : 
 
 Sois humble, et prends sur toi ton antique manteau. 
 " Je ne sais pas pourquoi ces Messieurs ont voulu faire 
 une ode de ce couplet de la Halle. lis ont manqud k 
 la fidelity sans autre fruit que de rompre I'unisson de la 
 Scfene qui est du ton de la Chanson Angloise." — Ibid., 
 June, 1778. 
 
 " On en dira ce qu'on voudra, U nous falloit un Shake- 
 speare complet avec ses perles et son fumier in ster- 
 quilimio margaritas. 
 
 " Ayez-le, c'est d'abord ce que vous lui devez, 
 Et vous I'estimerez aprfes si vous pouvez. 
 
APPENDIX D 275 
 
 " H seroit m^me injuste de ne pas estimer tm g^nie si 
 original, un peintre si energique d'une nature, qui, k la 
 v^rite, n'est ni choisie ni ornee, dans lequel on trouve, 
 aprfes tout, de grands modeles du tragique en tout genre, 
 et qui, pr^sentant des objets souvent affreux et degofi- 
 tants, mais toujours vrais, revolte souvent, mais n'ennuie 
 jamais. Nous en disons trop peut-Stre pour les Lecteurs 
 Francois et nous n'en disons certainement pas assez pour 
 des Lecteurs Anglois. Shakespeare fait toujours, et par- 
 tout, leurs delices et ils ne con9oivent pas plus nos froi- 
 deurs et nos degouts k I'dgard de certaines scfenes de ce 
 Pofete, que nous ne concevons leur continuelle admiration 
 et leur meprisable enthousiasme. C'est une chose vrai- 
 ment remarquable que cette difference, ou plutdt cette 
 opposition de gout entre deux Nations si voisines, et 
 toutes deux si eclair^es. Au reste, tout est dit depuis 
 longtemps sur ce sujet. 
 
 " Le Henri VIII. de Shakespeare prouve que cet Auteur 
 savoit mettre dans ses portraits autant d'adresse que de 
 verite ; c'est veritablement un tour de force que d'avoir 
 traite ce sujet d'une maniere qui put plaire k la Keine 
 Elizabeth, plaoee, comme elle I'etoit, entre un pere dont 
 elle vouloit respecter la memoire et une mere a qui ce 
 pere cruel avoit fait trancher la tete. 
 
 " Le traduction fait de I'effet : elle est done bonne, et 
 elle manquoit. Le Traducteur devroit, pourtant, s'ab- 
 stenir de certaines expressions recherchdes, de certains 
 tours bizarres qui n'appartenoient point k la Langue. 
 Pourquoi des plaintes irrespectueuses ? Pourquoi cette 
 expression naufrage'e sur un 'Royaume ou il n'y a ni 
 pitie,' etc., et cette autre: 'Si nous nous conduisons 
 avec cette molle foiblesse, et que nous nous laissons sur- 
 
276 APPENDIX D 
 
 mener par un manteau d'^carlate.' Pourquoi oette for- 
 mule d'optatif qui n'est point dans la Langue, et qui 
 revient tres souvent dans cette Traduction ? ' Ah ! que 
 cela, fut k faire encore ! ' Tandis qu'U est si ais^ de dire 
 en bon Francois: Ah ! que cela n'est-il encore a faire f 
 
 " ' C'est beaucoup plus que je ne puis consentir.' Cette 
 phrase n'est point correcte. 
 
 " ' Je ne suis pas assez grande pour gtre votre Reiue, et 
 je le suis trop pour gtre votre concubine.' 
 
 " Ce mot de Lady-Gray a Edouard IV. est le mot connu 
 de Catherine de Rohan k Henri IV. Qu'elle etoit trop 
 pauvre pour elre sa femme, et de trop bonne Maison pour 
 etre sa maitresse ; mais il est mal exprim^ dans la Traduc- 
 tion, et Je ne suis pas assez grande, n'est pas un tour 
 heureux." — Mercure de France, July, 1782. 
 
APPENDIX E 
 
 BIBLIOGRAPHY OF EDITIONS 
 
 Abbreviations : Bib. Nat. = Bibliothfeque Nationale In Paris. 
 Brit. MuB. Cat. = British Museum Catalogue. 
 
 Original Works : 
 
 Eloge de Clairaut. 
 in Necrologie des hommes celebres de France. Paris. 
 1766. (Bib. Nat. L.= n. 19.) 
 
 (The same, reprinted in Le Jardin Anglois, par Le 
 Tourneur. Paris. 1788. Vol. I.) (Bib. Nat. Y' 
 12,478.) 
 
 Discours Moraux, couronn^s par les Academies de 
 Montauban et de Besan9on en 1766 et 1767, avec nn 
 Eloge de Charles V., Roi de France, par M^^^. Sens 
 et Paris. 1768. Chez Tarbe et la Veuve Pierre Fils. 
 In 8vo. (Bib. Nat. Z. 28,691.) 
 
 (The same, reprinted in Le Jardin Anglois, Vol. I.) 
 
 Eloge du Marechal du Mny, Qui a remport^ le Prix, 
 au Jugement de I'Academie de Marseille, le 25 
 Aoiit, 1778, par M. Le Tourneur. Bruxelles et 
 Paris, chez I'Auteur, rue de Tournon et chez Merigot 
 Jeune. 1778. In 8vo. (Bib. Nat. L.^' n 6704.) 
 
 Voyage h Ermenonville. 
 in (Euvres completes de J. J. Rousseau. Nouvelle 
 Edition. Paris., 1788., Poin9ot. Tome I. (Bib. 
 Nat. Z. 36,379.) 
 
 277 
 
278 APPENDIX E 
 
 (Les pieces nouvelles ins^rdes dans ce volume sont: 
 
 Introduction, par M. Mercier. 
 
 Voyage k Ermenonville, par feu M. Le Tourneur, pour 
 servir de Preface. 
 
 Notes de J. J. Rousseau sur sa Nouvelle Hdloise. 
 
 Notes des Editeurs.) 
 Translations ; 
 La Jeune Fille Seduite et Le Courtisan Ermite, contes 
 
 traduits de I'anglois par M. Le Tourneur. Paris, 
 
 Lejay. 1769. In 8vo. (Bib. Nat. Y.^ 44,063.) 
 (The same, reprinted in abridged form under the title 
 
 Le Kemords, Histoire de Miss Jennie, in Le Jardin 
 
 Anglois. Vol. I.) 
 Les Nuits d'Young, traduites de I'anglois par M. Le 
 
 Tourneur (Sunt lacrymae rerum et mentem mortalia 
 
 tangunt. Virgile). Paris, Lejay. Avec approbation 
 
 et privilege du Roi. 1769. 2 vols, in 8vo. (Bib. 
 
 Nat. Y. K. 2520-21.) 
 (The same.) Lyon, Jean Deiville, et Paris, Lejay. 
 
 1769. 2vols. in8vo. (Bib. Nat. Y. K. 5167-68.) 
 (The same.) Seconde Edition, corrig^e et augmentee du 
 
 Triomphe de la Religion. Paris. 1769. 2 vols. 
 
 (Bib. Nat. Y. K. 2524-25.) 
 (The same.) Nouvelle edition. Paris, Lejay. 1770. 
 
 2 vols, in 8vo. (Bib. Nat. Y. K. 5173-74.) 
 (The same.) Q.uatrieme Edition, corrigde et augmentde 
 
 du Triomphe de la Religion. Paris, Lejay. 1775. 
 
 2 vols, in 8vo. (Bib. Nat. Y. K. 2428-29.) 
 (The same.) Nouvelle edition. Paris, Lejay. 1781. 
 
 2 vols, in 12mo. (Bib. Nat. Y. K. 5177-78.) 
 (The same.) Paris. 1783. 2 vols. (Cited by Qu^rard.) 
 Les Nuits d'Young, traduites de I'anglais par Letoui^ 
 
 neur ; mises en vers f ran9ais par Hardouin. Paris. 
 
APPENDIX E 279 
 
 Didot I'Ain^. 1792. i vols. (Bib. Nat. Y. K. 
 
 2533-36). 
 (Prose translation of Le Tourneur on opposite page.) 
 Abr^ge des Nuits (traduction de Letourneur). Bale. 
 
 1796. (Cited by Qu^rard.) 
 Les Nuits d'Young, traduites de I'anglais par M. Le 
 
 Tourneur. Nouvelle edition. Lyon, Blache et 
 
 Boget. 1812. 4 vols, in 18mo. (Bib. Nat. Y. K. 
 
 5181-84.) 
 (The same.) Nouvelle Edition. Paris, Ledentu Li- 
 
 braire, quai des Augustins 31. 1817. 2 vols, in 
 
 18mo. (Bib. Nat. Y. K. 5188-89.) 
 (The same.) Nouvelle edition. Paris, De Pelafol, Li- 
 
 braire, rue des Grands Augustins 21. 1818. 2 vols. 
 
 in 8vo. (Bib. Nat. Y. K. 5186-87.) 
 (The same.) Nouvelle edition. Paris, Ledentu. 1821. 
 
 2 vols, in 18mo. (Bib. Nat. Y. K. 5188-89.) 
 (The same.) Nouvelle edition. Avignon, J. A. Joly. 
 
 1822. 4 vols, in 18mo. (Bib. Nat. Y. K. 5190-93.) 
 (The same.) Nouvelle edition. Paris, T. Tenrd. 1823. 
 
 2 vols, in 12mo. (Bib. Nat. Y. K. 5194-95.) 
 Les Nuits d'Young, suivies des Tombeaux et des Medi- 
 tations d'Hervey. Traduction de Le Tourneur. 
 
 Nouvelle edition, ornee de belles vignettes. Paris, 
 
 Ledoux, rue Gu^negaud 9. 1824. 2 vols, in 8vo. 
 
 (Bib. Nat. Y. K. 5196-97.) 
 (Vol. I. contains also Collardeau's verse translations of 
 
 Nights I and IE. Vol. II is augmented by Gray's 
 
 Elegy, translated in prose by Le Tourneur and in 
 
 verse by M. J. Chenier.) 
 Les Nuits d'Young, traduites de I'anglais par M. Le 
 
 Tourneur. . . . Nouvelle edition. Lons-Le-Saunier, 
 
 Escalle&Cie. 1825. 2 vols. (Bib. Nat. Y. K. 5198-99.) 
 
280 APPENDIX E 
 
 Les Nuits d'Young, traduction de Le Tourneur, suivies 
 
 de I'El^gie de Gray sur un cimetiere de campagne, 
 
 traduite par le meme, et en vers par M. J. Cheuier. 
 
 Nourelle Edition, ornee de deux vignettes. Paris, H. 
 
 Langlois, Fils, et Le Bailly, Editeurs. 1826, 1828. 
 
 2 vols, in 18mo. (Bib. Nat. Y. K. 5200-01.) 
 Les Nuits d'Young, traduites de I'anglais par M. Le 
 
 Tourneur. Paris, Ledentu. 1827. 2 vols, in 18mo. 
 
 (Bib. Nat. Y. K. 5202-03.) 
 (The same.) Paris, Froment. 1829. 2 vols, in 18mo. 
 
 (Bib. Nat. Y. K. 5208-07.) 
 (The same.) Paris, Lebigre frferes. 1831. 2 vols, in 
 
 18mo. (Bib. Nat. Y. K. 5208-09.) 
 (The same.) Paris, Philippe. 1834. 2 vols, in ISmo. 
 
 (Bib. Nat. Y. K. 5210-11.) 
 (The same.) Paris. Lebigre freres. 1836. 2 vols, in 
 
 18mo. (Bib. Nat. Y. K. 5212-13.) 
 Les Nuits d'Young, suivies des Tombeaux d'Hervey. 
 
 Traduction de P. Le Tourneur ; revue et pr^cedee 
 
 d'un Essai sur le Jobisme par P. Christian. Paris, 
 
 Lavigne. 1842. In 8vo. (Bib. Nat. Y. K. 5214.) 
 Les Nuits d'Young, traduites de I'anglais par Le Tom-- 
 
 neur. Paris, Ruel Ain^. 1854. 2 vols, in 18mo. 
 
 (Bib. Nat. Y. K. 5215-16.) 
 (The same.) Paris, B. Renaulin & Cie. Editeurs. 1856. 
 
 2 vols, in 18mo. (Bib. Nat. Y. K. 5217-18.) 
 (Euvres diverses du Docteur Young, traduites de 
 
 I'anglois par M. Le Tourneur. Paris, Lejay. 1770. 
 
 2 vols, in 8vo. (Bib. Nat. Y. K. 5247-48.) 
 (The same.) Lyon, chez Rosset; Rouen, chez A. 
 
 Lucas; Bordeaux, Labottifere; Amsterdam, chez 
 
 Changuyon ; Caen, chez" Le Roy; Orleans, chez 
 
 Massot ; Marseille, chez Massy. (Fly leaf of above.) 
 
APPENDIX E 281 
 
 (Euvies completes d'Yonng, traduites de I'anglais par 
 M. Le Tourneur. Paris. 1798. 6 vols, in 18mo. 
 (This edition contains also the Meditations d'H^r- 
 vey; cited by Qudrard.) 
 
 CEuvres completes. Traduction de Le Tourneur. 
 Avignon, J. A. Joly. 1822. 4 vols, in 24mo. (Bib. 
 Nat. Y. K. 5190-93. Les Nuits only.) 
 
 La Vengeance, Busiris, tragedies, traduites de I'anglais 
 d'Young, par Le Tourneur. 
 
 in Theatres JEtrangers, Vol. XIV. (Theatre Anglais, 
 Vol. II.) Paris, Brissot-Thivars. 1822. (Bib. Nat. 
 Y. 673.) 
 
 Le Notti di Young, tradotte dal Prancese, dal Signer 
 Abate Alberti. . . . Terza editione corretta ed 
 acoresciuta del Triomfo della Religione. Marsiglia, 
 Mossy. 1770, 1771. 3 vols, in 8vo. (Bib. Nat. Y. 
 K. 5242-44.) 
 
 (Le Tourneur's translation on opposite page.) 
 
 Le Lamentazioni, ossieno Le Notti d'Odoardo Young, 
 coir aggiunta di altri sue operette. Libera Tradu- 
 zione di Ludovico Antonio Loschi con varie anno- 
 tazioni. . . . Venezia. 1784. Presso Giovanni Vitto. 
 (Bib. Nat. Y. K. 2532.) 
 
 (Discorso preliminare del Traduttore Prancese.) 
 
 " Non sapendo io nulla dell' idioma inglese, m' 4 stato 
 giuoco forzal' attenermi passo passo alia traduzione 
 francese del Signor le Tourneur." (Prefazione del 
 Traduttore Italiano.) 
 
 Noites d'Young, traduzidas em vulgar por V. C. d'Oli- 
 viera e addicionadas com as notas de Mr. Le Tour- 
 neur, com OS poemas do Juizo Final, e do Triunfo 
 da Religiao contra o Amor, e outras opuscules do 
 niesmo Young. Terceira edu^ao, correcta e emen- 
 
282 APPENDIX E 
 
 dada pelo traductor dos Seculos Christa os etc. 
 
 Lisboa. 1804. In 8to. 
 (Cited by Thomas, Le Poete, Edward Young. Paris. 
 
 1895.) 
 Meditations d'Hervey, traduites de I'anglois par M. 
 
 Le Tourneur. Paris, Lejay. 1770. In 8vo. (Cited 
 
 by Qudrard.) 
 Meditations d'Hervey, traduites de I'anglois par M. 
 
 Le Tourneur. Paris, Lejay. 1771. In 8vo. Avec 
 
 approbation et permission. (Bib. Nat. R. 19,715-16 ; 
 
 R. 19,717-18, 2 copies.) 
 Abreg^ des CEuvres d'Hervey. Traduction de Le 
 
 Tourneur. GuiUaume Haas, Fils, Bale. 1796. In 
 
 18mo. (Bib. Nat. Reserve R. 2467.) 
 Les Tombeaux et les Meditations d'Hervey, prdc^dees 
 
 de sa Vie, traduit de I'anglais par M. Le Tourneur. 
 
 (Plurima mortis imago. Virg.) RoUand, Lyon. 
 
 1817. In 8vo. (Bib. Nat. R. 38,488.) 
 (The same.) Rolland, Lyon. 1823. (Bib. Nat. R. 
 
 38,489.) 
 Les Tombeaux et Les Meditations d'Hervey, pr^cedees 
 
 de sa Vie, traduit de I'anglais par M. Le Tourneur. 
 
 Jersey. 1841. (Cited in Brit. Mus. Cat.) 
 (The same, edited with Nuits d'Youug.) Paris. 1796. 
 
 Chez Ledoux, 1824; chez Lavigne, 1842. (Bib. 
 
 Nat. Y. K. 5196, Y. K. 5214.) 
 Histoire de Richard Savage et de J. Thomson, tradu- 
 ites de I'anglois par M. Le Tourneur. Paris, F^til. 
 
 1771. Avec approbation et permission. In 8vo. 
 
 (Bib. Nat. N. X. 971.) 
 L'Histoire du regne de I'empereur Charles Quint, pre- 
 
 cedee d'un Tableau des progres de la Society en 
 
 Europe depuis la destruction de I'Empire Romaio, 
 
APPENDIX E 283 
 
 jusqu'au commencement du seizieme sifecle, par 
 M. Robertson, Docteur en Theologie, Principal de 
 rUniversite d'Edinbourg, et Historiographe de sa 
 Majeste Britannique pour I'ficosse. Ouvrage traduit 
 de I'anglois. Amsterdam et Paris, chez Saillant et 
 Nyon, Pissot, Desaint, Pankoucke. 1771. 6 vols, in 
 12mo and 2 vols, in 4to. (Bib. Nat. Oc. 125.) 
 (The same.) 1781. 6 vols, in 12mo. 1788. (Cited 
 
 by Querard.) 
 (The same.) Paris. 1817, 1822, 1843. (Cited by 
 
 Qudrard. 
 Choix de Contes et de Podsies erses, traduits de I'an- 
 glois par M. Le Tourneur. Amsterdam and Paris, 
 Lejay. 1771. In 8vo. 2 vols, in 1. (Bib. Nat. Y. 
 K. 2927-28.) 
 (The same, Pt. II., reprinted with Les Meprises, on 
 Lucrfece Bradamante, par Cazalet. Paris. 1777.) 
 (Bib. Nat. Y.^ 21,466.) 
 Shakespeare, traduit de I'anglois, d^di^ au Koi. (Homo 
 sum : Humani nihil a me alienum puto. Ter.) 
 Paris, chez la Veuve Duchesne, Musier Fils, Nyon, 
 La Combe, Ruault, Lejay, Clousier. 1776-1783. 
 Avec approbation et privilege du Koi. 20 vols, 
 in 8vo. (Bib. Nat. Y. K. 1233-52.) Also in 4to, 3 
 copies. 
 (Euvres completes de Shakespeare, traduites de I'an- 
 glais par Letourneur. Nouvelle edition, revue et 
 corrigee par F. Guizot et A. P. (Piohot), traducteur 
 de Lord Byron ; precedes d'une notice biographique 
 et litt^raire sur Shakespeare par F. Guizot. Ladvo- 
 cat, Libraire, au Palais Royal. Paris. 1821. 13 
 vols, in 8vo. (Bib. Nat. Y. K. 1253-64.) 
 CEuvres de Shakespeare, traduites de I'anglais par 
 
284 APPENDIX E 
 
 Letourneur. Nouvelle Edition, corrig^e et augments 
 dfes commentaires de Voltaire et de La Harpe. A 
 la, Librairie de Brissot-Thivars, rue Chabannais, 
 No. 2, pres la rue Neuve des Petits Champs. Paris. 
 1821-1822. 12 vols, in 18mo. (Bib. Nat. Y. 660-71.) 
 in Theatres Etrangers. 
 
 OEuvres dramatiques de Shakespeare, traduites de 
 I'Anglais par Letourneur. Nouvelle edition, pre- 
 c6d4e d'une notice biographique et litt^raire par M. 
 Horace Meyer, traducteur des oeuvres de Schiller, et 
 orn^e du portrait de Shakespeare grave sur acier. 
 Imprimerie d'Amad^e Saintin. i^diteur, rue Saint 
 Jacques 38. Paris. 1833. 2 vols, in 8vo. (Bib. 
 Nat. y. K. 1296-97.) 
 
 (in (Euvres dramatiques de Shakespeare et de 
 Schiller . . . par M. J. A. Havard. Paris. A. 
 Havard, Editeur, 1834.) 
 
 (Euvres completes de Shakespeare, traduction entifere- 
 ment revue sur le texts anglais par M. Prancisque 
 Michel, et pr^c^dee de la vie de Shakespeare par 
 Woodsworth. Chez H. Delloye et Firmin Didot, 
 Paris. 1839. 3vols.in8vo. (Bib. Nat. Y. K. 344-46.) 
 (Translation by Le Tourneur, Life of Shakespeare, 
 by Thomas Campbell.) 
 
 (Another edition.) Traduction entiferement revue sur 
 le texte anglais par M. F. Michel, et precedes de la 
 vie de Shakespeare par J. Campbell. Firmin Didot, 
 Paris. 185.5. 3 vols, in 8vo. (Bib. Nat. 347-49). 
 
 (Another edition of Le Tourneur's translation.) 
 (Paris. 1844) ? 8vo. Part of the " Magasin theatral 
 stranger." — Imperfect, consisting only of " Les 
 Deux Gentilhommes de Verone," " Les Joyeuses 
 Commferes de Windsor," " Mesure pour Mesure," 
 
APPENDIX E 285 
 
 " Beaucoup de Bruit pour Rien " et " Peines d' Amour 
 
 Perdues." (Brit. Mus. Cat.) 
 
 (Possibly the same as Theatre Stranger of 1821.) 
 
 CEuvres de Shakespeare iJlustrdes d'un portrait de 
 Shakespeare et de 9 gravures hors texte de Westal, 
 Hamilton Smirke etc., d'apres I'edition anglaise. 
 (London. 1791-1802.) Traduction de Letourneur, 
 revue par Ch. Vogel. Edit^e specialement pour les 
 Magasins du Bon Marche, par A. Deslinieres. 8 rue 
 de Chantilly. Paris. 1899. 2 vols, in 8vo. (Bib. 
 Nat. 8° Y. K. 596-97.) 
 
 CEuvres choisies de Shakespeare, traduites par M. Le- 
 tourneur et augmentdes d'un preface par M. Du- 
 pontacq. Prof. Jules Cdsar, Hamlet et Macbeth. 
 Berche et Tralin, ^fiditeurs, 69 rue de Rennes. Paris. 
 1881. 8vo. (Bib. Nat. Y. K. 4860.) 
 
 Macbeth, tragedie par Shakespeare. Traduction fran- 
 (jaise par Letourneur, revue et corrigde. Jules 
 Delalain, et Fils, Paris. 1875. (Cette traduction 
 est pr^c^dde de la notice litt^raire de M. E- Sedley, 
 qui fait partie de la nouvelle collection des auteura 
 anglais format in 18.) (Bib. Nat. Y. K. 4886.) 
 
 (Another edition.) 1877. (Bib. Nat. Y. K. 4887, 
 4889.) 
 
 W. Shakespeare, La Temp6te, drame en 5 actes en 
 prose. Traduction de Le Tourneur. Librairie de la 
 Bibliothfeque Nationale, 2 rue de Valois, Palais Royal, 
 Paris. 1881. 16mo. (Bib. Nat. 8° Y. K. 572.) 
 
 Ossian, fils de Fingal, barde du troisieme siecle, poesies 
 galliques, traduites sur I'anglois de M. Macpherson, 
 par M. Le Tourneur. Paris, Musier Fils. 2 vols, in 
 4to and 8vo. (Bib. Nat. Yn. 30-31; Yn. 134-33). 
 
 Ossian, fils de Fingal, barde du life siecle, poesies 
 
286 APPENDIX E 
 
 galliques traduites sur I'anglois de Macpherson, par 
 Le Tourneur. Nouvelle Edition revue, corrig^e et 
 augmentee, ornde de gravures. Paris. 1799. 2 
 Tols. in 8vo. (Cited by Qu^rard.) 
 
 Cathuelina, ou les Amis rivaux, poeme imit^ d'Ossian, 
 et mis en vers fran9ais d'apres la traduction en prose 
 de Le Tourneur. Paris. 1801. In 8vo. (Cited 
 by Qudrard.) 
 
 Poemes d'Ossian et de quelques autres bardes, pour 
 servir de suite k I'Ossiau de Le Tourneur, traduits 
 de I'anglais par Hill. (Masque de Labaume, et de 
 David de St. George.) Paris. 1795. 3 vols, in ISmo. 
 (Bib. Nat. Yn. 128. Vol. II. only.) 
 
 (The same.) Traduction par Le Tourneur, David de 
 St. George (et Labaume). Paris. 1798. 7 vols. in 18mo. 
 (Cited by Qu^rard.) 
 
 (Another edition.) Augmentde des poemes d'Ossian 
 et de quelques autres bardes, traduits sur I'anglais 
 de M. Smith, pour servir de suite a I'Ossian de Le 
 Tourneur ; et pr^cedee d'une notice sur I'etat actuel 
 de la question relative k I'authenticitd des poemes 
 d'Ossian, par M. Guinguene. Paris. 1810. 2 vols, 
 in 8vo. (Cited by Querard.) 
 
 Vue de I'Evidence de la Religion Chr^tienne consid^rde 
 en elle-meme, traduite de I'Anglois par M. Le 
 Tourneur. (Vous me persuadez presque de devenir 
 Chretien. Actes des Ap6tres, xxvi. 28.) Paris. 
 L'Auteur, rue de Tournon, Berton, M^rigot jeune. 
 Avec approbation et privilfege du Roi. 1769. In 8vo. 
 (Bib. Nat. D. 21,546.) 
 
 (The date should be 1779 as shown by Privilfege.) 
 
 (The same.) Yverdun, Fdlioe, Prof. (Cited in preface 
 to edition of 1797.) 
 
APPENDIX B 287 
 
 Del I'Evidence de la Religion Chr^tienne, par M. Jen- 
 nings, anoien membre de la Chambre des Communes. 
 Traduit de I'anglais, troisifeme edition, augment^e 
 d'un Plan de Feiielon sur le meme sujet, et de 
 Pensees sur la Providence. Paris, chez Le Clere, 
 Libraire, Delance, Imprimeur. 1797. 8vo. (Bib. 
 Nat. D. 39,339.) 
 
 (The same.) Quatrifeme edition, augment^e d'un 
 Discours de M. Blair sur les avantages de la Reli- 
 gion et de Maximes Chretiennes. Paris, Imprimerie 
 de Delance et Lesueur. 1802. In 8vo. (Bib. Nat. 
 D. 89,340.) 
 
 Histoire Universelle depuis le commencement du 
 monde jusqu'^ present, par une Sooiete de Gens de 
 Lettres. Paris. 120 vols. 1779-1789. (Bib. Nat. 
 G. 4024-69.) 
 
 Le Sylphe, traduit de I'anglois. Geneve et Paris, 
 Merigot jeune. 1784. In 8vo. (Bib. Nat. Y^. 
 11,901-02.) 
 
 Histoire d'Angleterre, representee par Figures, ac- 
 compagnees d'un Precis Historique. Les Figures 
 gravees par F. A. David, d'apres les Dessins des 
 plus c^lebres Artistes de diffdrentes Academies de 
 TEurope. Dediee et pr^sent^e k Monsieur, frere du 
 Roi. Paris, chez David, graveur. 1784. 2 vols, in 
 4to. Avec privilege du Roi. (Bib. Nat. Na. 179.) 
 
 (Dedicatory letter to Monsieur, signed by David and 
 Le Tourneur.) 
 
 Clarisse Harlowe.' Traduction nouvelle et seule com- 
 plete, par M. Le Tourneur. Faite sur I'Edition 
 originale revue par Richardson ; ornee de figures du 
 c^l^bre Ghodowiefci, de Berlin. Dediee et prdsentee 
 k Monsieur, frere du Roi. (Humanos mores nosse 
 
288 APPENDIX B 
 
 volenti snfficit una Domus.) Genfeve, chez Paul 
 Barde, et Paris, chez Moutard et Mdrigot le jeune. 
 1785. 10 vols, in 8vo. (Bib. Nat. y^. 62,812.) 4 
 copies. 
 
 (The same.) Paris. 1802. 14 vols, in 18mo. (Cited by 
 Qu^rard.) 
 
 Choix d'^legies de I'Arioste, traduites de I'ltalien, 
 par M. Le Tourneur, Secretaire ordinaire de Mon- 
 sieur, frere du Roi, et Censeur Royal. Paris, De 
 rimprimerie de Ph. D. Pierres, Imprimeur Ordinaire 
 du Roi. 1785. In 8vo. (Bib. Nat. Yd. 7288.) 
 
 Voyage au Cap de Bonne Esp^rance, et Autour du 
 Monde avec le Capitaine Cook, et principalement 
 dans le Pays des Hottentots et des Caffres, par 
 Andr^ Sparrman, Docteur en Medecine, de I'Acad^- 
 mie des Sciences, et Directeur du Cabinet royal 
 d'Histoire naturelle de Stockholm. Avec Cartes, 
 Figures et Planches en taille douce. Traduit par 
 M. Le Tourneur. Paris, chez Buisson. Avec appro- 
 bation et privilege du Roi. 1787. 3 vols, in 8vo. 
 (Bib. Nat. G. 29,251.) 
 
 Voyage en AUemagne, dans une suite de lettres, par 
 M. Le Baron de Riesbeck, traduites de I'anglois, 
 avec portraits, plans et Carte en TaUle-douce. Paris, 
 chez Buisson. Avec approbation et permission. 
 1787. 3 vols, in 8vo. (Bib. Nat. M. 14,060.) 
 
 Memoires interessans par Une Lady, traduits de 
 I'anglois par feu M. Le Tourneur. Londres, et 
 Paris, chez Leroy. 1788. In 8vo. (Bib. Nat. Y^. 
 52,691-92.) 2 copies. 
 
 Vie de Frederic, Baron de Trenck, traduite de I'Alle- 
 mand par M. Le Tourneur. Berlin et Paris. 1788. 
 3 vols, in 8vo. (Bib. Nat. M. 34,526-28.) 
 
APPENDIX E 289 
 
 Le Jardin Anglois, ou Varietes tant originales que 
 traduites par feu M. Le Tourneur, pr^c^d^es d'une 
 notice sur sa vie et ses ouvrages, avec son portrait, 
 dessind d'apres nature par M. Pujos. Londres, et 
 Paris, chez Leroy. 1788. 2 vols, in 8vo. (Bib. 
 Nat. Ye. 12,478.) 
 
 Le Nord du Globe, ou Tableau de la Nature, dans les 
 Contrfees septentrionales ; qui fait connoltre la terre 
 dans ses formes, ses climats, ses qualitds; la mer 
 dans ses marees, ses ecueils, ses ph^nomenes ; et le 
 ciel dans ses m^teores, depuis le 60° degre de lati- 
 tude jusqu'aux extremit^s les plus voisines du pole. 
 Traduit de I'anglois de M. Pennant. Paris, chez 
 Th^ophile Barrois le jeune. 1789. Avec approba^ 
 tion et privilege du Roi. 2 vols, in 8vo. (Bib. Nat. 
 S. 32,548.) 
 
 Le Ministre de Wakefield, par Goldsmitb. (Sperate, 
 miseri ; cavete, felices.) Paris, chez Corbet. 1837. 
 2 vols, in 12mo. (Bib. Nat. Y^. 11,469-70.) 
 
 (The cover bears Le Tourneur's name, thus : Le 
 Ministre de Wakefield, d'Olivier Goldsmith ; traduit 
 par Letourneur. Orn^ de gravures. Paris, chez les 
 Marchands de Nouveautes. 1837.) 
 
 (This is a reprint of an anonymous edition published 
 by Pissot & Desaint, Paris, 1767, -which has been 
 attributed to Mme. de Montessan, to Rose, and to 
 Charlos. (Barbier k Qu^rard.) The style of the 
 translation is unlike that of Le Tourneur and it is 
 probably due to an error that his name appears on 
 the cover of the edition of 1837.) 
 
APPENDIX F 
 
 BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
 Periodicals : 
 
 Annee Littgraire. Paris, 1754^1790. In 8vo. 
 
 1768, vol. 5, p. 26 ; 1769, vol. 2, p. 217 ; vol. 7, p. 195 ; 
 
 1770, vol. 5, p. 23; vol. 8, p. 73 ; 1771, vol. 2, p. 326 ; 
 vol. 3, p. 249 I 1772, vol. 3, p. 28 ; vol. 4, p. 69 ; 1776, 
 vol. 2, pp. 30, 217 ; vol. 4, p. 73 ; vol. 6, p. 145 ; 1778, 
 vol. 6, p. 73 ; vol. 7, p. 73 ; 1779, vol. 6, p. 289 ; vol. 
 8, .p. 73 ; 1780, vol. 3, p. 289 ; 1781, vol. 3, p. 3 ; 1782, 
 vol. 1, p. 73 ; vol. 2, pp. 114, 175 ; 1784, vol. 1, p. 97 ; 
 1785, vol. 4, p. 335 ; 1786, vol. 2, p. 233 ; 1787, vol. 6, 
 p. 49 ; 1788, vol. 1, p. 49 ; vol. 2, p. 281 ; vol. 4, 
 p. 227 ; vol. 8, p. 210. 
 
 Annonces, affiches, et avis divers. 1751-1811. In 8vo. 
 
 (Afflche de Paris). 1788, Jan. 28. 
 L'Avant Coureur. 1760-1778. In 8vo. 
 
 1769, pp. 605, 285, 559; 1770, pp. 201, 512, 830; 
 
 1771, pp. 157, 833. 
 LeBabillard. 1778-1779. In 8vo. 
 
 1778, vol. 2, p. 326. 
 Bibliothfeque des Sciences et des Beaux Arts. La 
 Haye, 1754-1780. pet. in 8vo. 
 1769, vol. 31, p. 40; 1770, vol. 33, p. 105; 1771, vol. 
 35, p. 345 ; vol. 86, p. 893 ; 1776, vol. 4, 52d part, 
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 290 
 
APPENDIX P 291 
 
 Correspondance secrfete, politique et littdraire, 1775- 
 
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 vol. 3, pp. 269, 416 ; vol. 7, pp. 109, 179 ; vol. 9, p. 74- 
 L'Esprit des Journaux fran9ais et etrangers. 1772- 
 
 1818. •in 12mo. 1776, p. 432 ; 1788, vol. 3. 
 Gazette Littdraire. 1764, 1765. 
 Gentleman's Magazine. London, 1766. 
 Hatin, Bibliographie de la presse p&iodique. Paris. In 
 
 18mo. 
 Interm^diaire des Chercheurs. 1882, Dec. 12 ; 1884, 
 
 Aug. 10, Sept. 25. 
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 et passim. 
 Journal des Dames. 1759-1778. 
 
 1775, vol. 2, p. 218. 
 Journal des Debats. 1894, Nov. 13, 27. 
 Journal Encyclop^dique. Bouillon, 1760-1773. In 
 
 12mo. 1762, Jan. ; 1768, vol. 7, Pt. II., p. 38 ; 1769, 
 
 vol. 4, p. 297 ; vol. 6, pp. 55, 209 ; vol. 7, p. 138 ; 1770, 
 
 vol. 8, pp. 53, 465 ; 1771, vol. 2, p. 459 ; vol. 4, p. 139 ; 
 
 vol. 5, p. 300 ; vol. 6, pp. 18, 182 ; 1772, vol. l,p. 261 ; 
 
 vol. 4, p. 305 ; vol. 5, p. 472. 
 Journal Etranger. 
 
 1760, Sept. ; 1761, Dec. ; 1762, Jan., Feb., Apr., July. 
 Journal fran9ais, anglois et italien. 
 
 1778, Pt. XL, pp. 32, 64 (No. 1). 
 
 No. 2, p. 81. 
 Journal gdndral de France. 1785-1792. 10 vols, in 
 
 4to. 1788, Feb. 7, 17, 19 ; Mar. 29 ; Sept. 11. 
 Journal de Normandie. Rouen. 1785-1791. In 4to. 
 
 1788, Feb. 9 ; Apr. 2, 9, 30 ; Nov. 1. 
 Journal de Paris. 1777-1811. In 4to. 
 
 1777, Jan. 29, Mar. 16, 23, 24, 25 ; 1778, Oct. 8, 15 ; 
 
292 APPENDIX F 
 
 1779, Jan. 16, Feb. 12, 26, Mar. 21, Apr. 5, 18, 
 
 May 3, 29, June 9, 29, July 24, Aug. 7, Sept. 13, 
 
 21, Oct. 14, Nov. 1, 3, 29, Dec. 20; 1780, Apr. 9; 
 
 1781, Apr. 12 ; 1782, Dec. 3; 1784, Mar. 13, May 16; 
 
 1788, Jan. 26, 30, 31, Feb. 3, July 19, Oct. 15. 
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 1776, vol. 1, p. 43 ; vol. 3, p. 597 ; 1777, vol. 3, p. 
 
 331 ; 1778, vol. 1, pp. 50, 96, vol. 2. 
 Journal des Savants, 1685. In 4to. 
 
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 1781, pp. 442, 526 ; 1782, pp. 443, 731 ; 1783, p. 55 ; 
 
 1784, p. 210. 
 Journal des Sciences et des Beaux Arts, 1768-1782. In 
 
 8vo ; 1762, Feb., Nov. ; 1764, May, June, Sept., Dec. ; 
 
 1768, vol. 3; 1771, vol. 4, p. 356; 1776, vol. 2, pp. 
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 Memoires Secrets. 1762, Feb. 20. 
 
 Mem. Soc. Arch, de Valognes. 1885, III., pp. 49-59. 
 
 Article : Le Tourneur by Aug. Grou. 
 Memoires de Trevoux. 1770, Nov., Dec. 
 Mercure de Fi-ance. 1724-1820. In 12mo. 
 
 1769, May, June, Aug., Sept. ; 1771, Jan., May ; 1772, 
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 Monthly Review. 1769. p. 40. 
 
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 Le Pour et le Centre. Paris, 1788. 
 
 Revue Fran^aise. 1830. 
 
GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
 A 
 
 Ariosto, Ludovioo 
 
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 Amauld, Aut Vine. 
 
 Oscar, Fils d'Ossian, trag^die en. 5 actes. Paris, 1796. 
 D'Arnaud, Bacular 
 
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 B 
 
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 Baretti, Joseph 
 
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 A History of English Romanticism in the Eighteenth 
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294 GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
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 Boissy, Louis de 
 
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 C 
 
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 Collini, C5me-Alexandre 
 
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 D 
 
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 E 
 
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 F 
 
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 G 
 
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296 GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
 H 
 
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 Kind, John 
 
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 M 
 
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 N 
 
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 O 
 
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 La France litt^raire. Paris, 1833. 
 
 Supercheries litt^raires devoilees. Paris, 1870. 
 Quinet, Edgar 
 
 Histoire de mes Iddes. Paris, 1858. 
 
 R 
 
 E^musat, Chas. de 
 
 Passe et Present, Melanges. Paris, 1847. 
 Kiccoboni, Louis 
 
 Reflexions historiques et critiques sur les diffdrens 
 
 Theatres de I'Europe. Paris, 1738. 
 Richardson, Samuel 
 
 Pamela, ou la Vertu Kecompensee, traduit de I'an- 
 
 glois. Londres, 1742. 
 Lettres Angloises ou Histoire de Clarisse Harlowe, 
 
 traduit de I'anglois. Paris, 1751. 
 Clarisse Harlowe, traduction nouvelle et seule com- 
 plete par M. Barre. Paris, 1845. 
 Clarisse Harlowe, de Samuel Richardson, par Jules 
 
 Janin. Paris, 1846. 
 Riesbeck, le baron de 
 
 Briefe eines reisenden Franzosen iiber Deutschland 
 
 an seiuen Briider an Paris. Zurick, 1783. 
 Travels in Germany in a Series of Letters, translated 
 
 by Paul Henry Maty. London, 1787. 
 Lettres d'un Voyageur Fran9ais sur I'AUemagne 
 
 enrichies de notes et de corrections (par Bertholde- 
 
 Frederic Haller, patrician de Berne) . (Hollande), 
 
 1785. 
 Lettres sur I'AUemagne. Vienne, 1787. 
 
GENEEAL BIBLIOGEAPHY 301 
 
 Rutlidge, le chevalier de 
 
 Observations k MM. de I'Acaddmie k I'occasion d'une 
 certaine lettre de M. de Voltaire. Paris, 1776. 
 
 Sabatier, Antoine 
 
 Diotionnaire des trois sifecles de la litterature fran- 
 9aise. Paris, 1801. 
 Saint Marc Girardin 
 
 Cours de litterature dramatique. Paris, 1876. 
 Sand, George 
 
 Histoire de ma Vie. Paris, 1854. 
 Comme il votis plaira. 1856. 
 Saunders, Bailey 
 
 Life and letters of James Macpherson. London, 
 1894. 
 Sedaine 
 
 OEuvres. Paris, 1831. 
 Shakespeare 
 
 Works, Johnson and Steevens, 3d ed. London, 1785. 
 CEuvres, traduites par Benjamin Laroche. Paris, 
 
 1844. 
 CEuvres, traduites par Francois Victor Hugo. Paris, 
 
 1859. 
 CEuvres, traduites par Emile Montegut. Paris, 1867. 
 Macbeth, texte critique, avec la traduction en regard 
 par Alex. Beljame. Paris, 1897. 
 Sparrman, Andrew 
 
 A Voyage to the Cape of Good Hope towards the 
 Antarctic Polar Circle and Round the World, from 
 1772 to 1776, by Andrew Sparrman. Translated 
 from the Swedish original. London, 1785. 
 
302 GENERAL BIBLIOGEAPHY 
 
 Stael, Mme. de 
 
 De la Litt^rature, Paris, 1800. 
 Stapfer, Paul 
 
 Shakespeare et I'Antiquite. Paris, 1883. 
 Stendhal 
 
 Racine et Shakespeare. Paris, 1856. 
 Suavd, Jean, Bapt-Ant. 
 
 Vari^t^s litteraires. Paris, 1768. 
 
 T 
 
 Texte, Joseph 
 
 Jean Jacques Rousseau et le Cosmopolitanisme dans 
 la litt^rature fran^aise. Paris, 1895. 
 Thomas, E. 
 
 Montpellier, Tableau historique et descriptif. Mont- 
 pellier, 1853. 
 Thomas, W. 
 
 Le poete, Edward Young. Paris, 1895. 
 Thomson, James 
 
 Works. London, 1763. 
 
 Les Saisons, pofeme traduit de I'anglois de Thomson 
 (Mme. de Bontems). Paris, 1759. 
 Tombo, Rudolf 
 
 Ossian in Germany. New Tork, 1901. 
 Trenck, Frederic, baron de 
 
 Merkwiirdige Lebensgeschichte. Berlin, 1787. 
 Vie de Frederic, baron de Trenck, dcrite par lui- 
 meme et traduite de I'Allemand en fran9ais par 
 M. le baron de B^°« (Book). Metz, 1787. 
 
GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY 303 
 
 V 
 
 Vigny, Alfred de 
 
 Lettre sur la soiree du 24 Oct. 1829. 
 
 Othello. Paris, 1829. 
 Villemain, Abel FraD9ois 
 
 Tableau de la litt^rature an XVIIIe sifecle. Paris, 
 1852. 
 Voltaire 
 
 CEuvres, ed. Didot. Paris, 1862. 
 
 Y 
 
 Young, Edward 
 
 Works. London, 1765. 
 
 Satyres d'Young, ou I'Amour de la Renomm^e, pas- 
 sion universelle. Traduction libre de I'anglois 
 par M. Bertin. Paris, 1787. 
 
INDEX 
 
 Addison, 49, 156. 
 
 Affiches, Annonces et Avis 
 
 divers, 12 n. 
 Aicard, Jean, 251 n. 
 d'Aiguillon, la duchesse, 89. 
 Amants Malheureuz, Les, by 
 
 Baeular d'Arnaud, 174. 
 I'Amitii, 107. 
 
 Ammingait et Ajtit, 105, 106. 
 Amours de Groerdand, Les, 
 
 105. 
 Andromaque, 164. 
 Anglomania, 156; growth in 
 
 France, 161-162. 
 Ann&e L/itt&raire, Choix de 
 
 Contes, 108; Clarissa Har- 
 
 lowe, 13-3, 134, 135, 147, 
 
 148; Discours Moraux, 30; 
 
 Hervey's Meditations, 87 ; 
 
 Le Tourneur's death, 13; 
 
 epitaph, 15; Ossian, 91; 
 
 Shakespeare, 213, 214, 215, 
 
 216, 245; Voyage au Cap 
 
 de Bonne Esp^ance, 139; 
 
 Young's Night Thoughts, 71. 
 Antony and Cleopatra, 224. 
 Apologie de Shakespeart (sic) 
 
 en riponse h la critique de 
 
 Voltaire, by Mrs. Montague, 
 
 207 n. 
 Arctic Zoology, by Thomas 
 
 Pennant, 11, 140-142. 
 d'Argentalj le comte, death. 
 
 14; subscriber to transla^ 
 tion of Shakespeare, 178; 
 Voltaire's letters to, 194- 
 197, 200. 
 
 Argillan, ou le Fanatisme des 
 Croisades, by Fontaine-Mal- 
 herbe, 177 n. 
 
 Ariosto, 4, 99, 135-137, 151 n. 
 
 Aristotle, 186. 
 
 d'Arnaud, Baeular, 173, 174 n. 
 
 Arnauld, Oscar, Fils d' Os- 
 sian, 98 n. 
 
 Arnoult, Le Baron de Trench 
 ou le prisonnier prussien, 
 147 n. 
 
 As You Like It, 250. 
 
 Atala, by Chateaubriand, 75. 
 
 Athalie, 206. 
 
 Author, The, by Charles 
 Churchill, 110, 113. 
 
 L'Avant Coureur, Le Courtisan 
 Hermite, 45 ; Hervey, 87. 
 
 Avenel, 241. 
 
 Babillard, Le, 211-213. 
 Baour-Lormian, 97. 
 Bardes, Les, by Lesueur, 98 n. 
 Baretti, Joseph, 207. 
 Barine, Arvcde, 96 n. 
 Barmecides, Les, by La Harpe, 
 
 205 n. 
 Barrfi, translation of Clarissa 
 
 Harlowe, 134 n. 
 
 305 
 
306 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Beljame, Alexandre, 229 n, 
 
 242. 
 Bernhardt, Sarah, 251 n. 
 Bertin, Satyres d' Young, 73 n. 
 Bertini, Othello, 244 n. 
 Bibliothkque des Sciences et 
 
 des Beaux Arts, Hervey, 87 ; 
 
 Shakespeare, 176, 217. 
 Biographia Britannica, 51. 
 Bissy, le eomte de, 47. 
 Bock, le baron de, 146. 
 Boissy, Louis de, 162 n. 
 Bonheur, Le, 107. 
 Briefe einer reisenden Franzo- 
 
 sen iiber Deutschland, an 
 
 seinen Briider an Paris, 
 
 144 n, 145 n, 146 n. 
 Briefe iiber das Monchwesen, 
 
 by Gaspar Riesbeck, 144 n. 
 Brumoy, PSre, 212. 
 Buffon, 14, 141 n. 
 Burnouf, 6. 
 Busiris, by Edward Young, 67. 
 
 Cadet de FamiUe, Le, by Fon- 
 
 taine-Malherbe, 177 n. 
 Candidate, The, by Charles 
 
 Churchill, 110 n. 
 Canfield, Dorothea, 163 n. 
 CarrS, Jerome, 191. 
 Carthon, translated by the 
 
 Duchesse d'Aguillon, 89. 
 Cathuilina, 151 n. 
 Catu^lan, le comte de, 177, 
 
 Appendix C. 
 Cellini, 147. 
 Centaur not Fabulous, The, 
 
 by Edward Young, 66, 70. 
 Cesarotti, translation of Os- 
 
 sian, 94, 97. 
 Chants de Selma, Les, by 
 
 Ossian, 98. 
 Charles II., court of, 181 n. 
 Charles V., Moge de, by La 
 
 Harpe, 27 n, 28; by Le 
 
 Tourneur, 21, 27-30, 33; 
 
 Robertson's History of, 4, 
 
 92, 104, 109, 113. 
 Chasles, Philarete, 166. 
 Chateaubriand, influence of 
 
 Ossian in his Atala, 75; 
 
 Rene, 75; Ginie du Chris- 
 
 tianisme, 98; Shakespeare, 
 
 248, 249. 
 Chatelet, Mme. du, 31 u. 
 Ch^nier, Andrfi, 147 n. 
 Ch^nier, Marie Joseph, 244. 
 Choix de Contes et de Poesies 
 
 erses traduits de V anglais par 
 
 Le Tourneur, 90, 92 n, 104^ 
 
 106, 108 n, 113 n. 
 Choix d'EUgies de VArioste, 
 
 traduites de Vitalien par M. 
 
 Le Tourneur, 135-137. 
 Choix de Lcttres de Lord 
 
 Chesterfield, by Peyron, 86 n. 
 Christianisme, Examen de V Evi- 
 dence intrinseque du, 114 n. 
 Churchill, Charles, 110. 
 Cid, Le, 163. 
 Cinna, 190, 205 n. 
 Cinque Canti, Le, by Ariosto, 
 
 137, 152. 
 Clairaut, Alexandre, 30 n; 
 
 Mloge de, 30-32, 151 n. 
 Clarissa Harlowe, 4, 11, 17, 
 
 104, 125-135, 146, 147, 152, 
 
 218. 
 Clement, Nicholas, 155, 160. 
 CUopatra, 167, 170. 
 Collection de poemes ariglois, 
 
 iiaiiens, aUemands, espagn^ 
 
 ols, by Peyron, 86 ju. 
 Collini, 144 n. 
 Collins, 46. 
 
 Com^die larmoyante, 170. 
 Comme it vous plaira, by 
 
 George Sand, 250 n. 
 
INDEX 
 
 307 
 
 Confidences, Les, by Lamar- 
 tine, 98. 
 
 Congreve, 86 n, 181 n. 
 
 Conjectures sur la Composi- 
 tion Originale, by Edward 
 Young, 67, 68. 
 
 Conjon, M. de, 15. 
 
 CorUath, 89. 
 
 Connal et Crimoraj 88 n. 
 
 Conte d'Avril, Le, by Auguste 
 Dorohain, 251 n. 
 
 Contem-plations on the Night, 
 by Hervey, 77. 
 
 Contemplations on the Starry 
 Heavens, by Hervey, 77. 
 
 Corinne, by Mme. de Stael, 75. 
 
 Coriolanus, 213 n, 224. 
 
 Comeille, admired Lucan, 71 ; 
 genius compared to that of 
 Shakespeare, 190 ; great 
 dramatist, 158, 192, 193, 
 195, 200; in England, 163; 
 Le Tourneur's likeness to, 
 19 ; Shakespeare preferred 
 to, 162, 196, 204, 205; 
 Shakespeare in country of, 
 180; Voltaire's commentary 
 on, 203. 
 
 CorneiUe and Racine in Eng- 
 land, by Dorothea Can- 
 field, 163 n. 
 
 Correspondance littdraire, phi- 
 losophique et critique, by 
 Grimm, Diderot, 73 n, 89 n, 
 208 n. 
 
 Correspondance secrHe, politi- 
 que et littiraire, Eloge de 
 du Muy, 34-37; Le Tour- 
 neur's Letter, 197. 
 
 Cours analytique de littSrature 
 g&nirale, by Lemercier, 248 
 n. 
 
 Cours de litt&rature, by La 
 Harpe, 95 n. 
 
 Cours de littSrature dravwti- 
 
 qu£, by Geoffroy, 248 n. 
 Cours de littfy-ature dramati- 
 
 gue, by Lemercier, 248 n. 
 Courtisan Hermite, Le, 44, 45. 
 Cromwell, 249. 
 Curiositis Bibliographigues, 
 
 47 n. 
 Cuthona, translated by the 
 
 Abb6 Suard, 89. 
 Cymbeline, 167 n, 170 n, 224; 
 
 imitated by D^jaur^, 244 n. 
 
 D'Alembert, defends Comeille 
 and Racine, 201, 207, 244; 
 reads Voltaire's letter to the 
 Academy, 201, 202; sur 
 I'art de traduire, 59 n. 
 
 Dar Thvla, 89. 
 
 Davenant's Tempest, 157 n. 
 
 David, 116. 
 
 Dedication to M. Voltaire, 
 Young's, 65. 
 
 Defoe, 156. 
 
 D^jaur^, imitation of Cymbe- 
 line, 244 n. 
 
 Delain, Paul, 251 n. 
 
 De Rozoi, 244 n. 
 
 Deschamps, iftmile, 249. 
 
 Description of a Night in 
 October, Ossian's, 90. 
 
 Desmoulins, Camille, 75. 
 
 D&preaux, 181 n. 
 
 Destouches, N^ricauld, 156- 
 158, 162. 
 
 Dialogues between Theron and 
 Aspasia, by James Hervey, 
 77 n. 
 
 Diderot, 72, 73 n, 127, 208 n. 
 
 Discant on Creation, A, Her- 
 vey's, 77. 
 
 Discours Moraux, Le Tour- 
 neur's, 3, 4, 7, 8, 21-27, 28, 
 30, 32, 43, 44, 151. 
 
308 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Discours sur la PoSsie Dramati- 
 que, Marnionters, 173. 
 
 Discours sur la Tragidie ii 
 I' occasion des Machabies, 
 etc., by Houdard de la 
 Motte, 158 n. 
 
 Disquisitions on Several Sub- 
 jects, by Jenyns, 114 n. 
 
 Dissipateur, Le, by Des- 
 touches, 157. 
 
 Distressed Mother, The, 164. 
 
 Dorchain, Auguste, 251 n. 
 
 Douin, translated Othello, 174 
 n. 
 
 Drouais, 14. 
 
 Dryden, 157, 181. 
 
 Du Belloy, 170. 
 
 Ducis, 2, 170-174; Hamlet, 
 2, 171-172; King John, 
 172, 243; King Lear, 172, 
 243; Macbeth, 172, 243; 
 Othello, 172, 243; Romeo 
 and Jidiet, 2, 172; replaces 
 Voltaire in Academy, 243. 
 
 Duolos, CSsar ReniS Guyot, 13. 
 
 Dumas, Alexandre, 251 n. 
 
 Duval, Georges, 251 n. 
 
 Bbert, 76. 
 
 I'Ecole des P^es, by Fon- 
 taine-Malherbe, 177 n. 
 
 Elegy, Gray's, 84^86. 
 
 Eloge de Charles V., roi de 
 France, by Le Tourneur, 
 21, 27-30, 33; by La 
 _ Harpe, 27 n, 28. 
 
 Eloge de Clairaut, 30-31^ 151 n. 
 
 Eloge du Marichal du Muy, 
 , by Le Tourneur, 32-37, 151. 
 
 Eloge de Richardson, Diderot's, 
 127. 
 
 English drama, French igno- 
 rance of, 155 ; slow develop- 
 ment in France, 164^-165. 
 
 Epicharsis et Nlron, by L&- 
 _ gouv6, 244 n. 
 Epltre b. Lord Lansdowne, 
 , Young's, 67. 
 Bpitre aux Pauvres, by Fon- 
 , taine-Malherbe, 177 n. 
 Bpitre h Voltaire, Le Tour- 
 
 neur's, 65. 
 ErmenonvUle, Voyage &, Le 
 
 Tourneur's, 37-42. 
 Erschenburg, 221. 
 Essay on Dramatic Art, Mer- 
 cier's, 170, 173, 209 n, 244. 
 Estimation de la Vie, 67. 
 Etudes Podtigues Francoises et 
 Strangles, by ifimile Des- 
 ^ champs, 249. 
 
 Etudes sur Shakespeare, by 
 
 Philarete Chasles, 166 n. 
 
 Eudoxie, ou le beau projet de 
 
 solitude, 105-106, 108. 
 Euripides, 186, 201, 215. 
 Eusa>e, 65, 66, 70. 
 
 FidiliU, La, 135, 137. 
 Fingal, 88 n, 89. 
 Florio, 240. 
 Fontaine-Malherbe, 31, 32 n, 
 
 177 n. 
 Fontanes, 96. 
 Foscolo, Ugo, 76. 
 Fouquet, 155. 
 
 Fourbe, Le, Congreve's, trans- 
 lated by Peyron, 86 n. 
 Fragments of Ancient Poetry, 
 
 88 n. 
 Frangois II., by Pr&ident 
 
 H^nault, 170. 
 Free Inquiry into the Nature 
 
 and Origin of Evil, Jenyns's, 
 
 114 n. 
 French drama in England, 
 
 163. 
 Frfiron, 71, 245. 
 
INDEX 
 
 309 
 
 Frivoltii, La, 161, 162 n. 
 Fun&raiUes d'Arabert, Les, 
 86 u. 
 
 Garriok, 171, 181 n, 204, 205, 
 
 208 n. 
 Gazette Utt6raire, 89 n. 
 G^nie du Christianis?ne, by 
 
 Chateaubriand, 98. 
 Gentleman's Magazine, 61 n. 
 Geoffrey, 248. 
 Gerbier, 14. 
 Gerville, 6. 
 Geschichte der Deutachen, by 
 
 Riesbeck, 144 n. 
 Gessner, 14. 
 Girodet-Trioson, 98 n. 
 Gluck, 14. 
 Goethe, 97. 
 Gotham, by Charles Churchill, 
 
 110 n. 
 Grave Yard School of poets, 
 
 46, 102. 
 Gray, 46, 84-86. 
 Greek Theatre, by Pere Bru- 
 
 moy, 212. 
 Grimm, 72, 73 n; account of 
 
 Shakespeare quarrel, 208- 
 
 209; on Sedaine, 244. 
 Grou, Auguste, 13. 
 Guillot, F^lix, 5. 
 Guizot, 221, 241, 248 n. 
 
 Haller, Bertholde Fr^dSric, 
 145 n. 
 
 Hamlet, Ducis's, 2, 171 ; Hugo's, 
 233-234; La Place's. 167 n; 
 Le Toumeur's, 224, 232- 
 233 ; Meurioe's, 251 n ; Pro- 
 vost's, 162; Sand's, 250; 
 Voltaire's, 230-231. 
 
 Hanmer, 184. ^ 
 
 Haraucourt, Edmond, 251 n. 
 
 Hardy, Alexandre, 158. 
 
 Havard, 241. 
 
 Htoault, President, 170. 
 
 Henry VI., 167, 215. 
 
 Hernani, 249. 
 
 Hervey, James, 4, 10, 73 n, 
 
 77-84, 86-88, 92, 93, 99, 
 
 101, 108, 113 n, 174, 176, 
 
 192. 
 Hervieu, Anne, 6. 
 Histoire d' Angleterre, by Le 
 
 Tourneur, 116-118. 
 Histoire de mes IdSes, by 
 
 Edgar Quinet, 98 n. 
 Histoire du r^gne de Z'ew- 
 
 •perewr Charles Quint, 113 
 
 n. 
 Histoire de Richard Savage, 
 
 suiine de la Vie de Thomson, 
 
 by Le Tourneur, 109 n. 
 Histoire de ma Vie, by George 
 
 Sand, 98 n. 
 Histoire du ThAdtre Frangais, 
 
 by Hippolyte Lucas, 162 n. 
 Histoire Universelle, 116. 
 History of Charles V., Robert- 
 son's 4, 92, 104, 109, 113. 
 History of Quadrupeds, by 
 
 Pennant, 141 n. 
 Homer, 89, 94, 97, 98. 
 UHomme et la Femme sen- 
 
 sibles, Mackenzie's, 86 n. 
 Hugo, Frangois Victor, Harrv- 
 
 let, 230, 233-234, 235; 
 
 Romeo and Juliet, 237-239; 
 
 works of Shakespeare, 250. 
 Hugo, Victor, 249. 
 
 V Influence de Shakespeare sur 
 le Thidire Frangais, by 
 Albert Lacroix, 155 n. 
 
 Imagines, ou la Gageure in- 
 discrete, DOjaurO's, 244 n. 
 
 InSs, by Houdard de la Motte, 
 158 n. 
 
310 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Jane Gray, Mme. de Stael's, 75. 
 
 Janin, Jules, 135. 
 
 Jardin Anglois, he, cm Variites 
 
 tarU originales que tradwUes, 
 
 4, 6, 21 n, 31 n, 32 n, 44, 
 
 120 n, 137, 151, 152. 
 Jenyns, Soame, 114. 
 Jerningham, 86 n. 
 Jeu, Le, 107. 
 Jeune Fille Siduite, La, 44, 
 
 45, 151 n. 
 Jeux de Cailiope, 86 n. 
 Johnson, Samuel, 4, 111, 184, 
 
 220 n, 226 n. 
 Journal Anglois, 213. 
 Journal des D&iots, 96 n, 
 
 248 n. 
 Journal Encydopidique, 27 n. ; 
 
 Discours Moraux, 30 n; 
 
 Ossian, 91 n, 97 n; Savage, 
 
 113 n. 
 Journal Etranger, 47, 88, 89. 
 Journal Frangois, anglois et 
 
 italien, 209, 210. 
 Journal genircde de la France, 
 
 13 n. 
 Journal de Normandie, 13 n, 
 
 14, 15. 
 Journal de Paris, 12 n, 13 n, 
 
 16, 95, 96 n, 217. 
 Journal de politique et de lit- 
 
 Urature, 216, 242 n. 
 Journal des Savants, 26, 89 n, 
 
 177 n, 216. 
 Jours, Les, 73. 
 Julius Ccesar, La Place, 167 n, 
 
 170 n; Le Tourneur, 176, 
 
 210, 224, 227, 228; Vol- 
 taire on, 190, 221. 
 Jusserand, J. J., 20 n, 155 n, 
 
 161 n, 185 n, 250. 
 
 Kind, John, Young in Ger- 
 many, 76 n. 
 
 King John, 172, 243. 
 
 King Lear, Ducis, 172, 243; 
 Lacroix, 251 n; Le Tour- 
 neur, 224; Loti, 251 ii. 
 
 Klopstock, 97. 
 
 La Bray^re, 108. 
 
 Lacroix, Albert, 155 n. 
 
 Lacroix, Jules, 251 n. 
 
 La Fontaine, l7. 
 
 La Fosse, 155. 
 
 La Harpe, Barmecides, 205 n; 
 directs Journal de politique, 
 217 ; defends Shakespeare, 
 207, 244; Eloge de Charles 
 v., 27n, 28; Menzicof, 205 
 n. ; Ossian, 95, 97; Vol- 
 taire's letter to, 201 ; Young, 
 71. 
 
 Lamartine, 75, 76, 98, 249, 
 250. 
 
 Landscape gardens, French 
 and English compared, 38- 
 39. 
 
 La Place, Antoine de, 2, 69, 
 163, 166-170, 171. 
 
 Laroche, Benjamin, 250. 
 
 La Rochefoucauld, 24. 
 
 Last Judgment, The, Young's, 
 65, 66. 
 
 Lathmon, 90. 
 
 Lathmore, 89. 
 
 Le Blanc, I'Abb^, 162. 
 
 Legouv^, 244 n. 
 
 Lemercier, 248. 
 
 Leopardi, 76, 98. 
 
 Le Sage, 6. 
 
 Lesueur, 98 n. 
 
 Le Tourneur, Guillaume, 6. 
 
 Le Tourneur, Louis Eugene 
 F^lioien, 13. 
 
 Le Tourneur, Mme., 13. 
 
 Le Tourneur, Thomas, 6. 
 
 Letters, Hervey's, 78, 84. 
 
INDBX 
 
 311 
 
 Lettre sw la Trag4die, Vol- 
 taire's, 160 n, 230. 
 
 Lettres Angloises, 107, 108, 
 151 n. 
 
 Lettres Angloises, ou Histoire 
 de Clarisse Harlowe, by 
 the Abb6 PriSvost, 126. 
 
 Lettres sur V Allemagne, 145 n. 
 
 Lettres sur les Allemands, by 
 CoUini, 144 n. 
 
 Lettres d'un Frangois, 162 n. 
 
 Lettres Morales sur le Plaisir, 
 67, 70. 
 
 Lettres PhUosophigues, Vol- 
 taire's, 2, 160, 230 n. 
 
 Lettres d'un Yoyageur frangais 
 sur V AUennagne, 145 n. 
 
 lAfe and Letters of James Mac- 
 pherson, by Bailey Saunders, 
 96 n. 
 
 LiruiEeus, 138. 
 
 Littirature, De la, by Mme. 
 de Stael, 97, 98 n, 246 n, 
 247 n. 
 
 LittSrature, et des Litterateurs, 
 De la, by Mercier, 209 n. 
 
 Lonce, Marguerite, 5. 
 
 Lounsbury, Thomas, 161 u, 
 185 n, 206 n, 208 n, 250. 
 
 Lucain, 71. 
 
 Lucas, Hippolyte, 162 n. 
 
 Luines, Cardinal de, 14. 
 
 Macbeth, Beljame, 229 n, 242; 
 Ducis, 172, 243; Laoroix, 
 251 n; La Place, 167; Le 
 Tourneur, 224, 229, 242; 
 Richepin, 251 n; Voltaire, 
 203. 
 
 Machiavellism, 26. 
 
 Maclsrenzie, 86 n. 
 
 Macpherson, James, 88, 92 n, 
 94, 95, 96 n. 
 
 Mariages primaturis, Des, 107. 
 
 Marion Delorme, 249. 
 
 Marmontel, 104 ; Discours sw 
 la Poisie dramatigue^ ITS-f 
 campaigne vs. Sha^SpBJEre, 
 244; statements concern- 
 ing Shakespeare, 180-181. 
 
 Maty, Paul Henry, Travels 
 in Germany, 144 n. 
 
 Maupertuis, 31 n. 
 
 Meditations and Contempla^ 
 tions among the Tombs, by 
 James Hervey, 77-84. 
 
 Meditations d'Hervey, tra- 
 duites de Vanglois par Le 
 Tourneur, T7. 
 
 Meditations, Lamartine's, 76. 
 
 Meditations in a Flower Gar- 
 den, 86. 
 
 M6gkre apprivoisie. La, by 
 Paul Delain, 251 n. 
 
 Melanges de Littirature, d' His- 
 toire et de Philosophie, by 
 D'Alembert, 59 n. 
 
 Memoires interessans par une 
 Lady, 122-125, 151 n. 
 
 Memoires secrets, 89 n. 
 
 Memoires sociologiqu^s et 
 archeologigu.es de Valognes, 
 13 n. 
 
 Menzicof, by La Harpe, 205 n. 
 
 Mercier, S^bastien, Essay on 
 Dramatic AH, 170, 173, 
 209, 244; friend of Le 
 Tourneur, 12, 13, 16-18, 
 38 ; supports Shakespeare, 
 186, 209, 244; Timon 
 d'Athines, 244 ; Tombeaux 
 de Verone, 173. 
 
 Mercure de France, Le Courtis 
 san Hermite, 45; Night 
 Thoughts, 70, 71; Shake- 
 speare, 216, 217 n, 242, 
 Appendix D. 
 
 Merkwiirdige Lebensgeschichte, 
 
312 
 
 INDEX 
 
 by the Baron de Trenck, 
 
 146 n. 
 Merry Wives of Windsor, 167, 
 
 170. 
 Meurice, Paul, 251 n. 
 M^zi^res, Alfred, 250. 
 Michel, Franclsque, 250. 
 Minhiels, Alfred, Histoire des 
 
 Id^es I/UUraires en France 
 
 au XIX' Siicle, 185 n. 
 Middleton, 138. 
 Milton, John, 26, 44, 46, 156. 
 Ministre Berger, Le, 105 n. 
 Ministre Philosophe, Le, 105 n. 
 Minona, Ossian's, 91. 
 Minvane, Ossian's, 90. 
 Moli^re, 158, 163, 180, 181, 
 
 204. 
 Montague, Mrs., 207, 221. 
 Montaigne 240, Appendix B. 
 MontSgut, Emile, 250. 
 Montesquieu, 161. 
 Monthly Review, 50, 51, 65 n. 
 MontppUier, Tableau histo- 
 
 rigue et descriptif, by E. 
 
 Thomas, 74 n. 
 Morel, I.ton, 113 n. 
 Motte, Houdard de la, 158- 
 
 159. 
 Mounet Sully, 251 a. 
 Musset, Alfred de, 91, 98, 134 n. 
 Muy, Eloge du Marshal du, 
 
 32-37, 151 n. 
 
 Namouna, 134 n. 
 
 Napoleon, 97. 
 
 N&crologie des Hommes cSU- 
 bres de France, 30, 31. 
 
 Night Thoughts, Young's, 
 beauties and defects, 53- 
 57; Le Tourneur's transla- 
 tion of, 57-65; named, 4, 
 15, 44, 46, 47, 48, 66, 76, 
 77, 78, 79, 174. 
 
 Nord du Globe, Le, 140-142, 
 151 n. 
 
 Nouvdle Hd.oise, 126. 
 
 Nouvdles Lettres persanes, 86 
 n. 
 
 Nuits Angloises, Les, 73. 
 
 Nuits d'Young, Les, traduites 
 de I'Anglois par M. Le 
 Tourneur, 47, 50, 54, 55, 
 59, 67, 72, 73 n, 87, 88, 103, 
 133 n, 198, 241. 
 
 Nuits Parisiennes, Les, 73. 
 
 (Edipe, Voltaire's, 159. 
 
 (Euvres Diverges du Docteur 
 Young, traduites de I'An- 
 glois par M. Le Tourneur, 
 47, 67-70. 
 
 Oithona, Ossian's, 89. 
 
 Oscar, Fils d'Ossian, 98 n. 
 
 Ossian, influence in France, 
 97-98; in Germany, 96- 
 97 ; named, 3, 4, 11, 17, 101, 
 103, 126, 151 n, 218, 241, 
 254, 255, 257; translated 
 into French by Le I'ourneur, 
 90-96 ; by Suard and Turgot, 
 88-90. 
 
 Ossian, Fils de Fingal . . . 
 Poesies GaUiques traduites 
 . . . par M. Le Tourneur, 
 92. 
 
 Othello, analyzed by La Place, 
 167 ; by Provost, 162 ; imi- 
 tated by Aicard, 251 n ; Ber- 
 tini, 244 n; translated by 
 Douin, 174; Ducis, 172, 
 243; Le Tourneur, 210, 
 217, 224, 226, 270-274; 
 Voltaire, 203; Vigny, 249. 
 
 Oil trouver des Amis, 105 n. 
 
 PamMa, ou, la Vertu ricom- 
 pensie, 125. 
 
INDEX 
 
 313 
 
 Paradise Lost, 44, 151. 
 Paraphrase of Part of the 
 
 Book of Job, Young's, 65, 
 
 66, 67 n. 
 Pascal, 53. 
 Pass6 et Present, by Charles 
 
 de R^musat, 248 n. 
 Pelouze, 6. 
 Pennant, Thomas, 140-142, 
 
 151 n. 
 Pensies Angloises sur divers 
 
 sujets de religion et de 
 
 morale, 46. 
 Pensies sur divers sujets, 65, 
 
 66. 
 Persian Tales, 143 n. 
 Peyron, Jean Franjois, 86. 
 Pindemonte, 76. 
 Plautus, 183. 
 Poetry of melancholy, 3, 46, 
 
 47, 75, 76, 77, 88, 98. 
 Pope, 49, 156, 184. 
 Pour et le Contre, Le, 162. 
 Provost, I'Abb^, Clarissa Har- 
 
 lowe, 125-135, juissim., 147; 
 
 Shakespeare, 162. 
 Pujos, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, 
 
 16, 18, 19, 20, 32, 34. 
 
 Racine, Androrruaque, 164; 
 Athalie, 206 n; in England, 
 163; defended vs. Shake- 
 speare, 200, 201, 204, 205; 
 dramatist, 158, 181, 192, 
 193, 195, 196, 215; Shake- 
 speare in country of, 180. 
 
 Racine et Shakespeare, by 
 Stendhal, 248. 
 
 RapiditS de la Vie, La, by 
 Fontaine-Malherbe, 177 n. 
 
 Reflections on a Flower Gar- 
 den, Hervey's, 77. 
 
 Reflexions Historigues et 
 Critiques sur les Diff&rens 
 
 ThSAtres de VEurope, by 
 
 Louis Riccoboni, 162 n. 
 Religion ChrHienne, De VEvC- 
 
 dence de la, traduit par Le 
 
 Tourneur, 115 n. 
 Religion Chritienne, Vue de 
 
 I' Evidence de la, traduite par 
 
 M. Le Tourneur, 114 a. 
 R^musat, Charles de, 248. 
 Reni, Chateaubriand's, 75. 
 Resignation, The, Young's, 51 n, 
 
 65. 
 Revenge, The, Young's, 69 n. 
 Revolution du Thi&tre, by 
 
 Charles de R^musat, 248 n. 
 Revue de la Vie, 65, 66. 
 Rhapsodie de Richard III., by 
 
 De Rozoi, 244 n. 
 Riccoboni, 162 n. 
 Richard III., 167, 173, 244 
 
 n. 
 Richardson, Samuel, 46, 125- 
 
 135, passim; Diderot's 
 
 Eloge de, 127. 
 RicheUeu, Due de, 205. 
 Richepin, Jean, 251 n. 
 Riesbeck, Gaspar, 143, 144- 
 
 146, 152. 
 Robertson, 104, 109, 113, 
 
 134 n, 135 n. 
 Robespierre, 75. 
 Rochester, 181 n. 
 Romantic movement, 3, 96, 
 
 102, 233, 249, 255. 
 Romantique, Le Toumeur's 
 
 definition of, 184-185 n, 
 
 259. 
 Romeo and Juliet, Ducis's, 2, 
 
 172; Hugo's, 238-239; Le 
 
 Toumeur's, 224, 235-237; 
 
 Voltaire quotes from, 203. 
 Romule, by la Motte, 158 n. 
 Rosciad, The, by Churchill, 
 
 110 n. 
 
314 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Rousseau, J. J., 37 n, 38, 39, 
 
 40, 46. 
 Rousseau, J.-J., et le Cosmo- 
 
 polifanisme litt&ravre, by 
 
 J. Texte, 75 n, 76 n, 96 n. 
 Rutlidge, le chevalier de, 209, 
 
 210-213 n. 
 Ryno et Alpin, 88 n. 
 
 Saint Evremond, 155. 
 
 Sainte Beuve, 249. 
 
 Saisons, Les, by James 
 Thomson, 112 n. 
 
 Salvator Rosa, 185 n. 
 
 Sancy, M. de, 15. 
 
 Sand, George, 98, 250. 
 
 Satyr es d' Young, ou, V Amour de 
 la Renommie, by Bertin, 73 n. 
 
 SauZe, Le, by A. de Musset, 
 91 u. 
 
 Saunders, Bailey, Life and 
 Letters of James Macpher- 
 son, 96 n. 
 
 Savage, Richard, 4, 92, 109, 
 110, 111, 112, 113. 
 
 Schiller, 241. 
 
 Sea Piece, Young's, 65. 
 
 Sedaine, 244. 
 
 Sepolchri, by Ugo Foscolo, 76. 
 
 Sewell, 184. 
 
 Shaftesbury, 49. 
 
 Shakespeare, appreciation in 
 France, 1, 154, 257; diffi- 
 culties of translating, 165, 
 166; first references to 
 in France, 155; first trans- 
 lations of, by Destouches, 
 156-158; Duels, 170-173, 
 243; La Place, 163-170; 
 introduced into France by 
 Provost, 162; Voltaire, 2, 
 159; Le Tourneur's trans- 
 lation of, 1, 3, 4, 11, 15, 17, 
 32, 37, 92, 95, 99, 103, 104, 
 
 133 n, 254, 255, 261 ; char- 
 acter of this translation, 
 225-230, 240; description, 
 175-189; extracts from, 
 227 n, 232-233, 235-237; 
 purpose and method, 222- 
 224; value, 242, 243; 
 modern translations of, 
 241, 250, 251 n; separate 
 plays, Antony and Cleo- 
 patra, 167 n, 170 n, 224; 
 As You Like It, 250 ; Harris 
 let, Ducis, 2, 171 ; Hugo, 
 233-234; La Place, 167 n; 
 Le Tourneur, 224, 232- 
 233; Meurice, 251 n; Pro- 
 vost, 162; Sand, 250; 
 Voltaire, 230-231; Henry 
 VI., 167, 215; Julius 
 Ccesar, La Place, 167 n., 
 170 n; Le Tourneur, 176, 
 210, 224, 227, 228; Vol- 
 taire on, 190, 221; King 
 John, 172, 243 ; King Lear, 
 Ducis, 172, 243; Lacroix, 
 251 n; Loti, 251 n; Le 
 Tourneur, 224 ; Macbeth, 
 Beljame, 229 n, 242; Ducis, 
 172, 243; Lacroix, 251 n; 
 La Place, 167; Le Tour- 
 neur, 224, 229, 242; Ri- 
 chepin, 251 n ; Voltaire, 203 ; 
 Merry Wives of Windsor, 
 167, 170; Othello, Aicard, 
 251 n; Bertini, 244 n; 
 Douin, 174; Ducis, 172, 
 243; La Place, 167; Le 
 Tourneur, 176, 210, 217, 
 224, 226, 270-274 ; Provost, 
 162; Vigny, 249; Voltaire, 
 203 ; Richard III., 167, 173, 
 244 n; Romeo and Juliet, 
 Ducis, 2, 172; Hugo, 238- 
 239; Le Tourneur, 224, 
 
INDEX 
 
 315 
 
 235-237; Voltaire quotes 
 from, 203; Tempest, The, 
 Destouches, 156, 157 ; 
 Dryden and Davenant, 157 
 n; Le Toumeur, 176, 217, 
 224, 227, 228 n; quoted in 
 Le Sylphe, 121; Timon 
 of Athens, imitated by 
 Destouches, 157 n; by Mer- 
 cier, 244; translated by 
 La Place, 167 n, 170 n; 
 by Le Tourneur, 224 ; 
 Twelfth Night, 251 n; son- 
 nets, 152. 
 
 Shakespeare, traduit de Van- 
 glois, d6di6 au Roi, 175 n, 
 226 n. 
 
 Shakespeare, revue de la tra^ 
 duction de Le Tourneur, 
 par Charles Vogel, 241. 
 
 Shakespeare et VAntiquitS, by 
 P. Stapfer, 250. 
 
 Shakespeare in France under 
 the Old Rigime, by J. J. 
 Jusserand, 155 n, 156 u, 
 161 n. 
 
 Shakespeare, L' Influence de, 
 sur le ThMtre Frangais, by 
 A. Lacroix, 155 n. 
 
 Shakespeare, CEuvres de, tra- 
 duites de Vanglais par Le 
 Tourneur. Nouvelle edition 
 . . . par M. Avenel, 241. 
 
 Shakespeare, CEuvres, traduites 
 par Le Tourneur, revues 
 par Guizot, 248. 
 
 Shakespeare, CEuvres, tror- 
 duites par M. Michel, 250. 
 
 Shakespeare, CEuvres complHes, 
 traduites par F. V. Hugo, 250. 
 
 Shakespeare, CEuvres complHes, 
 traduites par B. Laroche, 250. 
 
 Shakespeare, CEuvres complHes, 
 traduites par Le Tourneur. 
 
 Nouvelle edition, revue et 
 
 corrig&e par Guizot, 241. 
 Shakespeare, CEuvres complHes, 
 
 traduites par Emile Monti- 
 gut, 250. 
 Sliakespeare, CEuvres dramati- 
 
 gues, by Georges Duval, 
 
 251 n. 
 Shakespeare, CEuvres dramatic 
 
 ques, traduites par Le Tow- 
 
 neur, 241 n. 
 Shakespeare, Racine el, by 
 
 Stendhal, 248, 249. 
 Shakespeare, sa Vie et ses 
 
 CEuvres, by M^zi^res, 250. 
 Shakespeare, Voltaire and, by 
 
 T. Lounsbury, 161 n, 
 
 185 n, 206 n, 208 n, 250. 
 Shakespeare, Works of, edited 
 
 by Johnson and Steevens, 
 
 220 u., 226 n. 
 Shenstone, 151. 
 Shylock, by E. Haraucourt, 
 
 251 n. 
 Si&ge de Calais, Le, by Du 
 
 Belloy, 170. 
 Smeatman, 138. 
 Sophocles, 183, 186, 201, 215. 
 Sparrman, Andr6, 137-139, 
 
 144. 
 Stael, Mme. de, 75, 97, 98, 
 
 246-247, 248. 
 Stapfer, Paul, 250. 
 Steevens, George, 220 n, 226 n. 
 Stendhal, 248, 249. 
 Suard, I'AbbS, 89, 90, 113. 
 Swift, 49, 156. 
 Sylphe, Le, 118-122, 151 n, 
 
 152. 
 
 Tartuffe, Le, 163. 
 
 Toiler, The, 211. 
 
 Temora, Ossian's, 88 n, 93, 94. 
 
 Terns, Le, 107-108. 
 
316 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Texte, Joseph, 75 n, 76 n, 
 
 126 u. 
 ThiUre Anglais, by Jerome 
 
 Carre, 191. 
 Thidtre Anglois, Le, by A. de 
 
 La Place, 69, 163, 167, 169. 
 Thomas, E., Montpellier, 
 
 Tableau historique et de- 
 
 scriptif, 74 n. 
 Thomas, W., Le Poite, 
 
 Edward Young, 76 n. 
 Thomson, James, life of, 4, 92, 
 
 109, 110, 112, 113; Les 
 
 Saisons, 112, 152. 
 TibuUus of Germany, the, 14. 
 Tombeaux de Virone, Les, by 
 
 Meroier, 173. 
 Tombo, Rudolf, Ossian in 
 
 Germany, 96 n. 
 Traits des Passions, 67, 70. 
 Travels in Germany, by Paul 
 
 Henry Maty, 144 n. 
 Trenck, Baron de, 146-151, 
 
 152. 
 Trenck, Fr^dSric baron de, 
 
 MerkiDiirdige Lebensgeschich- 
 
 te, 146 n. 
 Trenck, Le Baron de, ou le 
 
 prisonnier prussien, by 
 
 Arnoult, 147 n. 
 Trenck, La Vie de FrSdSric, 
 
 baron de, translated by Le 
 
 Tourneur, 146 n. 
 Trenck, Vie de Fr&d&ric, baron 
 
 de, by the Baron de Book, 
 
 146. 
 Trite EstzTnation of Human 
 
 Life, Young's, 70. 
 Turcaret, by Le Sage, 6. 
 Turgot, 88, 89. 
 
 Vaines, M. de, 201, 204 n. 
 Vallamprey, Pierre Vicq de, 5. 
 Valognes, 5, 6, 12, 13 n, 20 n. 
 
 Van Loo, Carl, 31. 
 
 VariitSs LittSraires, Suard's, 
 90 n. 
 
 Vega, Lopez de, 181 n. 
 
 Vengeance, La, 67. 
 
 Vigny, Alfred de, 249. 
 
 Vogel, Chasles, 241. 
 
 Voltaire, Commentary on Cor- 
 neille, 203; comparison of 
 Julius Ccesar and Cinna, 
 190; Dictionary, 191; Ham- 
 let, 230-231, 234; Irine, 
 207 ; Le Tourneur refers to, 
 27 ; Le Tourneur's Epttre 
 h M. de Voltaire, 65; Le 
 Tourneur's reply to, 197- 
 199 ; Letters to Academy, 
 201, 202-204, 206; d'Ar- 
 gental, 194-195, 200 ; Due de 
 Richelieu, 205 n ; La Harpe, 
 201-202; M. de Vaines, 
 201, 204 n; Lettres Philo- 
 sophiques, 2, 160, 230 n; 
 (Edipe, 159 ; on Ossian, 97 ; 
 on Shakespeare, first im- 
 pressions of, 159-161 ; war 
 against, 94, 190-207 ; ThiMre 
 Anglais by JSromd CarrS, 
 191 ; verses to Clairaut, 31 n; 
 visited , by Pennant, 141 ; 
 on Young, 72, 96, 198. 
 
 Voltaire and Shakespeare, by 
 Thomas Lounsbury, 161 n, 
 185 n, 206, 208 n, 250. 
 
 Voyage d, ErmenonviUe, by 
 Le Tourneur, 37-42. 
 
 Voyage au Cap de Bonne 
 Bspirance, by Le Tourneur, 
 137-139. 
 
 Voyage en AUemagne, by Rles- 
 beck, 144 ii. 
 
 Voyage to the Cape of Good 
 Hope, by Sparrman, 138- 
 139. 
 
INDEX 
 
 317 
 
 Warburton, 184. 
 Werther, 97. 
 Wesley, John, 77 n. 
 Westermann, 75. 
 Wicherly, 181 n. 
 Wieland, 221. 
 
 Winter Piece, A, by H«rvey, 
 77. 
 
 Young, Edward, imitations of, 
 73 ; influence in France, 75, 
 96 ; in Germany, 76 ; in 
 Italy, 76; Le Tourneur's 
 translation of, 3, 4, 9, 10, 
 11, 17, 37, 48-76, 79, 85, 
 88, 92, 93, 95, 99, 101, 103, 
 
 108, 114, 126, 127, 175, 176, 
 211, 216, 225, 254, 255, 
 257; NigM Thoughts, 4, 15, 
 44, 46, 47, 48, 53-67, 76, 
 77, 78, 79, 174; Nuits, 47, 
 SO, 55, 59, 67, 72, 73 n, 87, 
 88, 103, 133 n, 198, 241; 
 (Euvres diverses, 47, 67-70, 
 175; Voltaire on, 72, 196, 
 198; wild enthusiasm for, 
 126, 133 n, 174, 192. 
 
 Young in Germany, by John 
 Kind, 76 n. 
 
 Young, Le PoSte Edward, by 
 W. Thomas, 76 n. 
 
VITA 
 
 Maky Gertettde Gushing was born of 
 American parents in Montreal, Canada, April 7, 
 1870. She was educated in the private schools 
 of Boston, and in Wellesley College, from which 
 she received the degree of B.S. in 1892 and 
 that of A.M. in 1895. For two years, 1897- 
 1898 and 1898-1899, she taught French and 
 Latin in the Walnut Hill School, Natick, Mass. 
 In October, 1900, she entered Columbia Uni- 
 versity, and was in residence as a graduate stu- 
 dent till February, 1905. From October, 1905, 
 to June, 1907, she was Instructor in French and 
 Spanish in Mt. Holyoke College, where she is 
 now Associate Professor of Romance Languages. 
 The years 1892-1893, 1899-1900, 1907-1908, 
 the summers of 1897 and 1902, and March- 
 September of 1905 were spent in travel and 
 study in Europe.