תמונות בעמוד
PDF
ePub

ed the first verse, and then answered with one of my Arabian dialogues. We continued; he by the second verse of the psalm, and I with part of my dialogues. The conversation became more animated; we spoke at the same time, and with the same rapidity. I waited for him at the end of the last verse, when he became silent; but to secure to myself the honor of the victory, I added one or two phrases, and I told the gentlemen, that the man merited by his knowledge and his misfortunes an interest in their charity. He told them in a sort of ridiculous gibberish, that he had travelled in Spain, Portugal, Germany, Italy, and Turkey, and that he had never seen so skilful a man, as the young Abbè. I was at that time twenty one years of age.

This adventure made a noise in Marseilles. I had notwithstanding endeavored to prevent its consequences, for I had faithfully related it to my friends; but the public would not believe me, and insisted that it was wonderful.

I finished my stay at the seminary, and, though penetrated with sentiments of religion, perhaps because I was pene trated, I had not the slightest idea of entering into the ecclesiastical ministry. My Bishop might have taken the advantage of my ardor for employment by one of those small, simple benefices, of which he could dispose; but he knew, that I had read St. Paul and the Jansenist fathers of the primitive church, such as St. Augustin and St. Prosper; he knew also, that I rarely saw two Jesuits, who were his constant attendants, and who directed his thoughts and will; on one side father Fabre, who could hardly read, but who could entertain him with pleasant stories; on the other father Maire, who perpetually stimulated him against the Jansenist Bishops, against the parliaments, against the enemies of the Jesuits, and of course of the church. He united all the prin cipal employments; theologian of the Bishop, and intendant and steward of his household, first grand vicar, and adminis

* In the original theologal. This was a particular canon in every chapter of the cathedral church; whose office it was to teach theology, and to preach on certain occasions. Long previous to the revolution the office was merely titular, and its duties had become obsolete.

T.

trator general of the diocese; his antichamber, always filled with curates and vicars, resembled that of a minister of state, or a lieutenant of police. He was rough, imperious, very intolerant, and with a slight tinge of literature thought himself the most able man in the world. I met him sometimes by accident; and I penetrated his thoughts, when he told me one day, that the academies would destroy religion." These words I can never forget.

Sheltered from Father Maire and every disastrous event, master of my time and actions, having only wants, which I could satisfy, my days were tranquilly passed in enjoyments, which left me no regret.

I passed a part of the years at Aubagne in the bosom of á family, that I adored; and in a small society of amiable people, whose amusements in town and in the country were readings and concerts. I went occasionally to Marseilles to visit some members of the academy, with whom I was connected; in this number was the Abbè Fournier, canon of St. Victor, distinguished by his virtues and his knowledge of the history of the middle age. He had furnished a number of instructive notes for the Gallia Christiana and for the supplement, which the Abbè Carpentier had given of the dictionary of Du Cange. Such also was M. Cary, who had applied himself with success to the study of the monuments of antiquity; he had a beautiful cabinet of medals, and a valuable collection of books, suited to his taste. Among other works we owe to him the history by medals of the kings of Thrace and the Bosphorus. Universal knowledge, directed by an excellent mind, and embellished by mild manners, rendered his acquaintance as agreeable, as it was instructive.

*It was rather early to make this prediction, which the Jesuits continued to repeat till the extinction of their order in France. How far it has been verified, the history of literature in France, connected with the revolution, has amply shown. These disputes between the Jansenist and Jesuit parties, to which were afterwards added the philosophist clergy, a monstrous combination, could each boast of their Bishops and advocates among the higher orders of the clergy. Their acrimonious disputes and divisions were a powerful as sistance to the common enemy, who afterwards overwhelmed them in one promiscuous ruin. T.

I was very fond of him; and, when the memory of him recals so many other losses still more severe, the path of life seems strewed with thorns, that tear us in our progress, and leave us in the end naked and covered with wounds.

I

Sometimes, after having passed the day in conversation with my friends upon different literary subjects, I went to to pass the night at the convent of the minims, where Father Sigalout, a correspondent of the academy of sciences, made astronomical observations, with which he deigned to associate me; for since I am making a general confession, I ought to consider among the wanderings of my youth the time, I lost in the study of mathematics and astronomy in particular.* accuse myself also of having made during the same period a great many bad verses, though I was acquainted with the best models; and many critical dissertations without the necessary books. In fine I do not recollect the year, in which the nuns of Aubagne proposed to me towards the end of Carnaval to preach to them during the Sundays of Lent, and I consented. I had neither sermons nor even the necessary books. I commenced a sermon every Monday, and preached it the following Sunday. The year after the same engagement took place, I composed new sermons, and with as little precaution; but this second attempt so exhausted my strength, that I could not finish it.

After having wandered a long time from one subject to another, I reflected on my situation. I had no profession; I had just attained my twenty ninth year; the family of my brother augmented, and I might one day become a burthen to him.

*It may not be useless to remark on this passage, that the Abbè Barthelemy was too enlightened as a scholar, and too liberal as a man to have intended by this passage any reflection upon the study of mathematics and astronomy; but only regretted, that he devoted too much of his time to their pursuit, when it was his intention to pursue a different branch of learning. If however no one should be allowed to express a similar opinion, till he had become as profound, as the Abbè Barthelemy in some other science, or even in those, which he seems to depreciate, this observation would perhaps never be repeated.

T.

[To be continued.]

À BRIEF VIEW OF THE PROGRESS OF LITERATURE IN GERMANY.

[Continued from page 130.]

ELEVENTH AND TWELFTH CENTURIES.

IN the progress of our inquiry we have reached a period, when a succession of important events changed the face of society in Germany, improved her literature, and refined her manners. If the characters of individuals result from circumstances beyond the reach of human control, the destiny of nations is decided by accidents, originating without the forethought of government, and directing without the will of the people.

The discovery of the mines in Thuringia in Saxony was a kind of creation of provinces in the bosom of a nation. It introduced a golden age in Germany. It attracted philosophy from the barren fields of metaphysics to the productive investigation of nature. The passions stimulated intellect, and this alliance of avarice, and pleasure, and science, was but preliminary to the establishment of refinement.

As mineralogy was founded wholly on experiment, it necessarily introduced a great change in literary pursuits. The jargon of dialectics and the magic incantations of syllogisms fell into neglect. Men began to use their eyes as well, as their ears, and to honor with the name of philosophy the knowledge of natural relations as well, as logical associations. The vain speculations of metaphysics were exchanged for inquiries into sensible objects, and the success of literary men in this department renders the tract of Bacon the history of the progress rather, than a project for the advancement of the sciences.

It

Mineralogy was a fortunate study to those, who had never investigated nature. It led to boundless research. required a methodical arrangement. The fossil opulence of

Ee

Saxony taught the student the various combinations of mete als, and learning was displayed in making nice discrimination to perfect a correct classification. The eagerness of curiosity conspired with the desire of wealth and the patronage of the state to engage men in this department of knowledge. Their success was equal to their ardor. The art of fusing and forging metal in the tenth century was well known. Superstition had moulded her golden altars, and flattery had erected statues to princes. A statue of Henry I, duke of Bavaria, in gypsumy, which was made in 948, is still in perfection, and Henry II presented a service of plate to the church of Mersburg.

The wealth, which Germany derived from the mines in Saxony, naturally originated commercial enterprise. The trader gleaned in his mercenary excursions with trinkets and luxuries the relics of antiquity, or the copies of masters. In a short time Germany became the mart of the North, and the grand workshop of the arts. Genius was attracted here from every nation to levy her tribute on pride, taste, and sen suality; science walked hand in hand with the arts; and Greece, Rome, and Spain contributed to national improvement. The mind called all her powers into action, and ranged through the wide extent of nature and boundless sphere of speculation. Philosophy no longer disdained the drudgery of investigation. The grammarian and rhetori cian in their little schools assumed the style and the title of the old philosophers. Opulence spared a moment from indulgence to investigate and reflect; and knowledge, which had so long been confined to the cloister and the palace, became a welcome and frequent guest in the circles of the people.

This general attention to science at this period was pecu liarly fortunate. The cloisters continued their characters as seminaries only so long, as they cherished the principles, and inculcated the habits of virtue. This was not to be long expected; as the institutions of monastic life were at variance with Fanaticism may for a moment repress the passions,

nature.

« הקודםהמשך »