The declining years of Voltaire and Rousseau witnessed no rising genius of similar power, but some authors of a secondary rank deserve notice. Marmontel (1728-1799) is distinguished as the writer of "Belisarius," a philosophical romance, "Moral Tales," and "Elements of Literature." He endeavors to lead his readers to the enjoyments of literature, instead of detaining them with frigid criticisms.
La Harpe (1739-1803) displayed great eloquence in literary criticism, and some of his works maintain their place, though they have little claim to originality.
Many writers devoted themselves to history, but the spirit of French philosophy was uncongenial to this species of composition, and the age does not afford one remarkable historian. The fame of the Abbé Raynal (1718-1796) rests chiefly on his "History of the Two Indies." It is difficult to conceive how a sober man could have arrived at such delirium of opinion, and how he could so complacently exhibit principles which tended to overthrow the whole system of society. Scarcely a crime was committed during the revolution, with which this century closes, but could find its advocate in this declaimer. When, however, Raynal found himself in the midst of the turmoils he had suggested, he behaved with justice, moderation, and courage; thus proving that his opinions were not the result of experience.
The days of true religious eloquence were past; faith was extinct among the greater part of the community, and cold and timid among the rest. Preachers, in deference to their audience, kept out of view whatever was purely religious, and enlarged on those topics which coincided with mere human morality. Religion was introduced only as an accessory which it was necessary to disguise skillfully, in order to escape derision. Genuine pulpit eloquence was out of the question under these circumstances.
Forensic eloquence had been improving in simplicity and seriousness since the commencement of the eighteenth century, and men of the law were now led by the circumstances of the times to trace out universal principles, rather than to discuss isolated facts. The eloquence of the bar thus acquired more extensive influence; the measures of the government converted it into a hostile power, and it furnished itself with weapons of reason and erudition which had not been thought of before.
We come now close upon the epoch when the national spirit was no longer to be traced in books, but in actions. The reign of Louis XV. had been marked with general disorder, and while he was sinking into the grave, amid the scorn of the people, the magistrates were punished for opposing the royal authority, and the public were indignant at the arbitrary proceeding. Beaumarchais (1732-1799) became the organ of this feeling, and his memoirs, like his comedies, are replete with enthusiasm, cynicism, and buffoonery. Literature was never so popular; it was regarded as the universal and powerful instrument which it behooved every man to possess. All grades of society were filled with authors and philosophers; the public mind was tending towards some change, without knowing what it would have; from the monarch on the throne to the lowest of the people, all perceived the utter discordance that prevailed between existing opinions and existing institutions.
In the midst of the dull murmur which announced the approaching storm, literature, as though its work of agitation had been completed, took up the shepherd's reed for public amusement. "Posterity would scarcely believe," says an eminent historian, "that 'Paul and Virginia' and the 'Indian Cottage' were composed at this juncture by Bernardin de St, Pierre, (1737-1814), as also the 'Fables of Florian' which are the only ones that have been considered readable since those of La Fontaine." About the same time appeared the "Voyage of Anacharsis," in which the Abbé Barthélemy (1716-1795) embodied his erudition in an attractive form, presenting a lively picture of Greece in the time of Pericles.
Among the more moral writers of this age was Necker (1732-1804), the financial minister of Louis XVI., who maintained the cause of religion against the torrent of public opinion in works distinguished for delicacy and elevation, seriousness and elegance.
When the storm at length burst, the country was exposed to every kind of revolutionary tyranny. The first actors in the work of destruction were, for the most part, actuated by good intentions; but these were soon superseded by men of a lower class, envious of all distinctions of rank and deeply imbued with the spirit of the philosophers. Some derived, from the writings of Rousseau, a hatred of everything above them; others had taken from Mably his admiration of the ancient republics of Greece and Rome, and would reproduce them in France; others had borrowed from Raynal the revolutionary torch which he had lighted for the destruction of all institutions; others, educated in the atheistic fanaticism of Diderot, trembled with rage at the very name of a priest or religion; and thus the Revolution was gradually handed over to the guidance of passion and personal interest.
In hurrying past these years of anarchy and bloodshed, we cast a glance upon the poet, André Chénier (1762-1794), who dared to write against the excesses of his countrymen, in consequence of which he was cited before the revolutionary tribunal, condemned, and executed.