Extremes are faulty, and proceed from men; all compensation is just, and proceeds from God.
If these “Characters” are not liked, I shall be astonished; and if they are, my astonishment will not be less.
THE END.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Pascalʼs Pensées were published in 1670, six years after their authorʼs death; La Rochefoucauldʼs Maximes appeared in 1665, and of both works from five to six editions had been sold before the “Characters” saw the light. I have borrowed the definition of these authorsʼ labours from La Bruyèreʼs “Prefatory Discourse concerning Theophrastus,” which came out at the same time as the “Characters,” and served as an introduction.
[2] Preface to La Bruyèreʼs “Characters,” page v.
[3] Preface to La Bruyèreʼs “Speech upon his Admission as a Member of the French Academy, June 15, 1693,” which preface was published for the first time with the eighth edition of the “Characters,” in 1694.
[4] Preface to La Bruyèreʼs “Characters,” page i.