The mere restoration of internal tranquillity would have probably done much, in connexion with the impulse given by the example of other countries, to encourage the progress of literature in France; but the Cardinal de Richelieu employed more direct means to effect this object. The character of this eminent statesman combined the most opposite tastes and qualities, and he was hardly less remarkable for the degree and singularity of some of his weaknesses, than for his intellectual vigor. It is scarcely credible, but is nevertheless well known, that while his large schemes of policy comprehended the whole of Europe, while he was playing off nations, one against the other, like the pieces on a chess board, he was making it in private life a serious occupation to revive the ridiculous pageant of the Courts of Love, alluded to in a preceding article; and was accustomed to meet with a circle of friends at the house of his niece, Hortensia Mancini, for the purpose of gravely discussing the sentimental problems that were anciently agitated before these tribunals. The Cardinal had also a strong inclination for literary pursuits, and this quality, which might have been one of the brilliant parts of his character, exhibited itself almost in the form of a weakness. With a decided fondness for poetry and polite literature, he appears to have had little or no power of execution in this line. His prose writings which are extant, have none of the qualities of a good style, and his attempts in dramatic poetry are said to have been very feeble, while his indiscriminate thirst for eminence led him to renew them continually, and inspired him with a strong jealousy of his rivals in the art. The Cardinal's passion for the drama was one of the immediate causes, that brought into action the genius of the great Corneille. The former seems to have thought that he could carry into poetry the same system which he habitually employed in politics and war, and execute a great part of his work by deputy. He accordingly appointed a committee of five persons, to aid him in the exercise of his poetical functions; and the future author of the Cid, then but little known to the public, was one of the number. For his services in this capacity the Cardinal allowed him a pension, which placed him at his ease in the world, and enabled him to devote himself without fear or scruple to his favorite art. The share which he may have had in the miserable attempts, brought forward under the name of Richelieu, is not known, but he soon produced in his own name the famous Cid, and opened with this tragedy the brilliant age of French literature. The Cardinal, as Fontenelle remarks, was as much alarmed at the appearance of the Cid, as he would have been if he had seen the Spaniards at the gates of Paris. He seems to have looked upon it as a sort of petty treason, for his literary lieutenants to do better in their own names than they did in his. He accordingly referred the case to the French Academy, and directed them to give their opinion publicly upon the merits of this tragedy, which they did in a formal report, drawn up by Chapelain, a wretched poet, though a person of some learning and judgment, then regarded by the rude taste of the age as the monarch of literature, and placed at the head of the Academy. This piece of criticism, which is extant, does honor upon the whole to the impartiality of that body, considering the circumstances under which it was written. It is said that Augustus, at the height of his power, attempted in vain to introduce a single new word into the Latin language. Richelieu, in like manner, though virtually the master of Europe, found himself unable to prevent the success of a New French tragedy. In vain,' says Boileau, 'did the minister rally his forces against the Cid: all Paris looked at Chimène, with eyes of Roderic.' the En vain contre le Cid un ministre se ligue, Tout Paris pour Chimène a les yeux de Rodrigue. Nor, to do him justice, does it appear that the Cardinal, however je alous of the success of the Cid, withdrew his protection from the author, who dedicated to him his next piece, Les Horaces, in terms of profound respect and fulsome adulation. At the Cardinal's death, which happened not long after, the poet wrote an epitaph upon him, which began and might as well have ended with the following lines. Qu'on parle comme on veut du fameux Cardinal, The passion of Richelieu for the drama was therefore among the immediate causes which developed the genius of the father of French tragedy, and through him brought the art at once to a high degree of perfection. He is also entitled to the credit, whatever it may be, of having occasioned the founda tion of the French Academy. This body was originally a vate association of a few gentlemen of literary taste and habits, who met together for merely social purposes at the house of Monsieur Conrart, a person much esteemed and beloved by the wits of the day, but who appears to have left no written monuments of his genius. Richelieu heard of this little club; and with the restless activity and rage for intermeddling in every body's business, that belonged to his character, immediately took it into his head that it might be converted into a great state institution, and made productive of vast benefit to the learning of the country. He accordingly proposed to the members to give them a legal existence, by incorporating them, under the name of the French Academy. This proposition was not, as it seems, particularly agreeable to them. They probably thought, with great justice, that they should lose all the pleasure of their social meetings, without being able in their public capacity to produce any real effect. The Cardinal, however, was not a person to be resisted or trifled with upon any subject, and after candidly expressing their reluctance to accede to his wishes, and finding that he still persisted, they gave in, and were incorporated accordingly. The event has, perhaps, realized their anticipations more fully than those of Richelieu. The French Academy and the Royal Society of London are undoubtedly the two most distinguished bodies of the kind in existence, and have done all that can be done by such institutions to promote the cause of science and learning. But this all seems upon the whole to be very little. To discover new truths and to write good books, are things that can only be done by individuals in private, and are not within the scope of combined action. A free communication between the different persons engaged in literary and scientific pursuits is doubtless agreeable and useful; but this can only take place at private meetings, and is precluded by the formal organization of a corporate body. The only purpose, remaining for the latter, is therefore to encourage and reward individual exertion: but this is perhaps better done by the enlightened public, than by an association of the precise individuals who are thus to be encouraged and rewarded. However this may be, the merit of instituting the Academy, such as it is, belongs to Richelieu; and it is accordingly one of the laws of the association, that every new member shall introduce an encomium on the Cardinal in the address which he regularly pronounces upon his admission. Such were the important services, direct and indirect, which were rendered by this distinguished prelate to the cause of letters. The work, which he left in an unfinished state, was completed under the patronage of Lewis XIV., during whose long and brilliant reign the French school of learning reached its perfection and flourished in all its glory. The vigorous administration of the Cardinal had repressed for a time, but not entirely destroyed the principles of internal discord, which after his death broke out again in the short and singular troubles of the civil war, commonly called the Fronde. His successor in the Ministry, Cardinal Mazarin, a man of shrewd and keen rather than powerful genius, did not acquire the same ascendancy over the feeling of the country which was possessed by Richelieu, and was somewhat unpopular on account of his Italian origin. Under these circumstances, another churchman of enterprising character and great power, afterwards known as Cardinal de Retz, undertook to supplant him, and made use, among other engines, of the highest Court of Justice, then called the Parliament of Paris, to effect his object. The question, after a while, took the form of an actual civil war, and the two most illustrious captains of their age and country, Turenne and Condé, both princes of the blood, did not think it unworthy of them to prostitute their talents by heading the adverse armies, which carried on the war in the heart of the kingdom and sometimes at the gates of Paris. This state of things was to all appearance sufficiently alarming, and might have produced the most fatal consequences. But the parties, at the height of the struggle, seem to have hardly known what they were contending about. No great principle of government, religion or national interest was really involved, and the quarrel finally subsided, as it had commenced, without any apparent cause. Cardinal Mazarin, who had been twice exiled during the troubles, kept his place, and died prime minister and virtual monarch, having personally concluded a peace with Spain, and restored the country to complete tranquillity at home and abroad. De Retz, a superior genius, obtained nothing but the empty honor of the Cardinal's hat, and passed the close of his life in retirement. Condé, who had made war for years upon the government, at the head of a combined Spanish and rebel army, was taken into favor without difficulty, and Lewis XIV., after passing his minority in the midst of continual alarm, a fugitive and an outlaw within his own kingdom,-hunted from city to city by an army of his subjects, commanded by a prince of his family,-trembling, every moment, with reason for his life,-succeeded at last to the crown, and reigned for more than fifty years without experiencing the least symptom of resistance or even uneasiness in any portion of his subjects. The mind of this monarch, which possessed a good deal of native vigor, probably derived much benefit from this course of instruction in the school of adversity; and the ascendancy of his personal qualities seems to have had its effect in maintaining the general tranquillity, that had happily been restored just before his accession. When we attempt to analyze his character, it is somewhat difficult to give a satisfactory account of his remarkable success, for it does not appear that he possessed in an uncommon degree any of the intellectual or moral qualities, that constitute greatness and confer power. He had neither the head of Frederic the Great, nor the heart of Henry IV., no actual military talent, no depth or acuteness of thought, no real warmth or generosity of feeling,-finally, little or no information, for his education had been purposely neglected by Mazarin. In compensation for all these deficiencies, he possessed a fine person, and a naturally dignified and imposing manner, much firmness of purpose (the highest quality about him), and a strong sense of the decorum that belonged to his position. A king is to a certain extent a theatrical personage, and under favorable circumstances may effect a great deal by going through the representation of his office in the best possible manner. Lewis XIV., partly by a sort of natural instinct, and partly by means of much study and attention, seems to have well understood and successfully discharged this branch of his royal duties. His deportment always commanded respect, and though by no means scrupulous in regard to his pleasures and amusements, he always kept them within the bounds of decency and good taste. Though incapable of great achievements himself, he had a mind superior to base and sordid pursuits, and could appreciate in others the talents which he did not possess. Though always dignified and imposing, he was often pointed and happy in familiar conversation, and seems to have exhibited in this |
